Neon Genesis Evangelion: Another Way
by bakercomics
Summary: In a world where Shinji and Asuka killed the EVAs in the SEELE attack on NERV, Shinji and his father reconcile and everyone else goes their separate ways. Four years later, after moving to Tokyo-02, Shinji is (again) alone with his father, as he is dealt with a comatose Rei, a potentially unforgiving Asuka away in Germany, and a busy and family-oriented Misato. Will things change?
1. Prologue: Father and Son

**NGE: Another Way**

 **Chapter One**

 **Father and Son**

It had been four years since Third Impact's prevention, and I had and still have the memories of that miserable day stitched into my brain.

 _"Asuka! Asuka! Get away! ASUKA!"_ I still remember fighting the EVAs sent to get me or Asuka to start Third Impact. She was nearly killed, but my EVA's S2 organ and tendency for it (and me) to go "berserk" finished them all off. I never fully understood the latter, but neither did anyone else.

Anyways, after the battle of the EVAs, Instrumentality was out of the window and NERV was disbanded. There were many injured or killed in the SEELE attack, but before they could reach the room where people like Maya and Fuyutsuki were, the defeat of the SEELE's EVA's and UN forces near the Japanese mainland put a stop to it. When I returned to the NERV building, I broke down because of Misato being left behind and most likely dying. Well, the odds were in my favor because some told me that she was alive and was rushed to the hospital.

Asuka and I went as fast as we could to her room, but we weren't allowed access as result of her emergency surgery. I remember still blaming myself.

 _"Asuka, it's all my fault. You could be dead and Misato might be now."_ _"No, Shinji, it's not. As much as I hate to admit it, you were the one who saved me, and you saved the world in the process. You have a lot to be proud of."_ _"People still died, Asuka! I could have ended the attack much sooner and saved Misato if I hadn't kept her waiting over my feelings of grief."_ _"Well, you did what you could and you kept 3 billion people from vanishing in Third Impact! There's more than just NERV personnel you saved."_ I sat there waiting for hours. Asuka had left to get rest after all that had happened to her in that last few months, which was fine. When Misato was finally able to be visited, it was morning.

 _"Alright, you can go in, kid,"_ the head doctor of the operation told me.

There she was, alive. I was so relieved.

 _"Shinji?"_ _"Misato!"_

I rushed to hug my then guardian.

 _"I thought you were dead, Misato!"_ _"I thought I was too."_

Asuka, Hyuga, Maya, and Shigeru eventually came to visit as well. When I finally left, I was approached by my father.

 _"I want you and I to go to your mother's grave tomorrow,"_ he explained.

 _"O-ok, Father."_

 _"Meet me at the NERV entrance at noon."_

 _"We're going together?"_

 _"Yes. We have a lot to talk about."_

I was astonished that my father, whom at that point I kind of hated, wanted me to go with him somewhere, not just meet him there in silence like we usually did.

I remember the car ride being pretty quiet with the exception of a greeting.

When we arrived at the grave, I was about to begin talking to my father before he interrupted me.

 _"She's gone for good now, Shinji."_

I looked back at him.

 _"What do you mean?"_ I asked.

 _"I know you know about Rei, so I'll tell you why I cloned your mother and turned her into Rei. I needed to bring her back. Without her, I'm not my true self, I'm not happy, and without her, there'd be no way in hell I could raise you. You could probably hear your mother while you were in Unit-01, well, in Terminal Dogma I could hear her, I could hear you, Asuka, and the other person in Asuka's EVA too. I was going to activate Instrumentality by putting Adam's Embryo into Rei. She then became under Lilith's possession and took the Embryo with her. But after you defeated the EVAs, Rei, who's still unconscious right now, was spit back out and Lilith was gone. Both SEELE and I were too late. I guess this is better than letting SEELE kill everyone."_

 _"Third Impact would've ended everything. That's what I wanted before I got in that EVA two days ago. I was nearly killed and cause many deaths and close calls because of my hope that I would die, Father. A lot of this disaster is my fault. Not even mentioning what I did to Asuka. She probably knows and hates my guts," I explained._

After our words of acceptance and moping, we stood there, in silence, but it felt different. It felt like I was standing next to my father, not some stranger who abandoned me after his wife died. After a few moments, I saw my father fall to his knees. He was in pain, not physical, but he felt pain in his heart for the first time in front of me.

 _"There's nothing I can do now. There's nothing left for me in this world. The only thing I request now is that you forgive me somehow, Shinji. I don't care what it takes anymore. I have nothing without you, my son."_

That shocked me. No way his actions were anywhere near forgivable, but I noticed he wasn't the same. It's as if they weren't his actions. The last two words came even more of a shock to me.

 _"Father... I don't know what to say. What will change after NERV is behind us?"_

 _"Everything will be normal after this. We can live normal lives. I can be your father. I can take you Rei and get out of here. Please, Shinji. I won't be forcing anything on you anymore."_

And that's where everything changed. Little over a week later, my father gave the order for the disbandment of NERV until another threat came. Everyone left in search of a home. Misato and Hyuga moved to the cities between Old Tokyo and Tokyo-2. Shigeru moved to Kyoto. Maya went to study abroad. Fuyutsuki planned on going with us. For a short amount of time, it was a comatose Rei, Asuka, Fuyutsuki, Father, and me left in NERV headquarters.

Asuka was eventually called back to Germany, but not without saying goodbye.

 _"Shinji, before I go, I'd like to speak to you alone."_

She took me to her temporary room.

There was silence for a few moments, before I felt Asuka wrapped her arms around me.

I was about to ask her what she was doing, but I couldn't find the words.

Another brief silence ensued, before Asuka spoke.

 _"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you in the past year," she said._

 _"Asuka-"_

 _"Let me speak. Everything bad between us was mostly my fault. I can't describe how you must have felt."_

 _"Asuka, there's something I need to tell you."_

 _"With that tone of voice, it's definitely something you're going to apologize about. Don't. I want this farewell to be somewhat happy."_

I sighed.

 _"Take care of Wondergirl. She'll need you based on what's happened to her. I'll be back someday. Please wait for me."_

 _"I promise. I'll call you a ride to the airport."_

I was about to turn away, but Asuka gripped harder.

I hugged her back.

I then heard a sob.

 _"I wish things were different,"_ I heard her say.

 _"Me too, Asuka, me too."_

That was one of the only moments I had with her that wasn't bad blood or an argument of some sort. I would miss that a lot over the years, but it wasn't my choice to make her stay.

Eventually, Father, Fuyutsuki, and I moved to Tokyo-2, while Rei was transferred to a hospital and research facility there a little bit earlier.

At some time after that, I got Asuka's address, and wrote her a letter, telling her about what I did and how I felt horrible about it. I hoped I'd never get a letter back.

I started school again, being my first year of high school. I entered a little late, as we hadn't moved to Tokyo-2 until a month after school began. I was in the same high school as (a then recovered) Toji and Hikari, I made a few other friends, and the rest is history, a _normal_ history, I might add.

I visited Rei in the hospital a lot in the beginning, but as it got later, it only grew harder and harder for me to go emotionally and I was also busy. As I approached my last year of high school, I stopped going all together.

Four years after all that, I got into Tokyo University, but I was still living with my Father. I didn't know what to do with my life, so I resorted to the one of the only things I was good at, the cello, and signed up for Music Theory classes, along with Japanese and English, as a backup, because I was told I was good at writing assigned reports and stories by my English and Japanese teachers. My father and I had and still have plenty of money so I didn't even need a job, but it's still encouraged by many. My father wanted me to stay with him, as there was plenty of room in the house and Tokyo-2 had a competitive housing market, being the capital and the closest major city to what used to be Tokyo-3.

Being in college separates people. Hikari ended up in Tokyo University with me, but we were in completely separate fields of learning, so we only ran into each other occasionally. Toji decided to get a physical labor type job instead of going to college, which disappointed Hikari, but that changed when he somehow bought an apartment they both moved into. The rest of my friends left for other parts of Japan or studied abroad. I was back to square one, but this time with my father there to support me.

The only other NERV member I had any contact with, other than my father and Fuyutsuki, was Misato. She didn't live far, so she came to visit a lot right after we moved, but eventually she found a man that was for her that wasn't Kaji, so she stopped visiting as often. She still called a lot though, constantly reminding me that I was the son she never had. She got married to him during my second year of high school, which I ended up going to the wedding.

One day, where this story starts, I got a call from her.

"Hello?" I asked, answering the house phone.

"Hey, Shinji!" I heard Misato say.

"Misato, what's up?"

"A lot, what about you?"

"Just boring college. I don't have a job currently, so I don't do much. It's not like NERV's still here to drag me places all the time," I responded.

I heard her chuckle.

"You're funny, Shinji," she complimented, making me suspicious, as she had always complimented me like that way after a few beers.

"Are you drunk?" I asked.

"No."

"Wow. Ok."

"Listen, I'm free to come visit this weekend. Is that cool if I come stay a night or two?"

"Oh, of course, it's been a while. Yeah, sounds great. I'll let Father know."

"Awesome. How is Gendo, anyway?" she asked, sounding a little more serious when she mentioned my dad.

"Good. How's your husband?"

"Oh, Kaito? He's great. We've done so much together."

"That's good to hear."

She chuckled.

"What?" I ask.

"I can't help but notice how much you've changed, Shinji."

"What do you mean?"

"You sound a lot more confident and less like you don't want to be around."

"Okay?" I said, in a confused tone.

She wasn't exactly wrong. I was more confident and I didn't exactly want to die anymore, but there was still the anxiety and emotion when it came to certain subjects.

"You'll notice it a lot more when you get a girlfriend," she added, interrupting my train of thought.

"Whatever," I said, trying to get away from the subject.

"Have you visited Rei?" she asked, delving into an even worse subject.

"No, not since that day in my final year of high school."

"Oh. You should see how she's doing though."

"I know, it's just the more I saw her, the more I felt empty. I always think about how none of my friends are here, you and the other NERV employees I got along with are in different places as well, and Dad and Fuyutsuki aren't always open."

"Trust me, it'll all be okay. Everyone is still trying to get NERV behind them and will eventually have to open up. I think people like Asuka-"

"No," I interrupted, "Asuka won't come around. She knows what I did to her."

"C'mon, Shinji, that's almost five years behind us. Do you really think that's always on her mind when she thinks of you? Her attitude wasn't really her, she knows how you must've felt, she's just like you."

"That's the problem. People like me don't put things behind them."

"You did. You're living a life without complaining about NERV. You aren't crying in the corner of regret. You're moving on and fast but you just don't notice it."

She was right, and I didn't retaliate or worry about running away like I did in those days.

"I guess you're somewhat right about that, Misato, but I'll still have my doubts."

"Ok. I'm looking forward to visiting this weekend. See you soon!"

"Bye," I said, putting the phone down.

The conversation soured my mood a bit, but I was fine. I then went into the living room, where Father sat at his computer, probably working on something for work.

"Father?" I called.

He turned his office chair toward me.

"Yes, Shinji?" He asked.

"Misato called and said she was free to visit this weekend, is it okay if she stays here?"

"Of course, Shinji. It's been forever since we've seen her. I assume you're going to ready the guest room?"

"As soon as I got your permission, yeah."

As much as I thought otherwise in the beginning, my father changed a lot. Right after moving, after he got a job to help fix Tokyo-3 and everything affected by the EVA's, my Father spent as much time with me as possible. He knew how I lonely I was during and after NERV, and wanted to have me live a better life. Unlike me, he didn't grieve about ruining everything. Sure, he still blames himself for Instrumentality, but he didn't take it as if he was going to take it to the grave.

I went down the hall and went into the guest room, which would be Rei's room, if she woke up. I laid out sheets on the bed and plugged in all the lights and small TV we had in there. At the sight of the complete yet desolate room, I sighed.

 _I guess I better visit her tomorrow._

I turned away and left the room, before looking into the room once more.

 _How I wish you were here, Rei._

 ** _A/N: Hey there! This is a story I wanted to try writing for a little while now. If you have read my stories, it's mostly other stuff, so this is new for me as I recently finished this anime. It was so depressing in the end so I wanted to write another timeline where the world was just barely spared in what almost was Third Impact. This chapter is a little short compared to what I plan to write, but this is just a slow introduction to what I plan to come. Please RR, if you are waiting on an update to my other story, that should be done soon. If you are new to my account/story, welcome! I hope this story turns out great!_**

 ** _Stay cool,_**

 ** _bakercomics_**


	2. Calling in the Aftermath

**NGE: Another Way**

 **Chapter 2**

 **A Call** **ing in the Aftermath**

* * *

I lied on my bed the next morning, getting no sleep. As I sit up, I remember one of the last words Asuka said to me before leaving.

 _"I wish things were different."_

I constantly wished that for so long, though I knew it would never happen. At least this time I had a couple people I could turn to. I wasn't afraid to.

I stood up from my bed, dragging myself to the kitchen to cook breakfast. Father was probably still asleep, so I had time to cook before he asked about it.

I was tired and had to stay awake, so I just made rice and miso soup with coffee for him, nothing special. I wasn't feeling hungry, so I took the coffee and sat down on the couch.

 _Today's the day. I have to visit Rei._

I wished Misato was there to go with me, or at least call me, but I was going to see her in a couple days. Then I thought about Asuka going, but I couldn't see her actually going to visit Rei, let alone come back to see me.

I turned on the TV, hoping to distract me from those thoughts. A few moments later, I saw my father stumble out of his room, in a tired daze.

"Good morning. Breakfast is on the table." I said.

"O-okay. Thank you," Father replied, after nearly falling over.

As morning duties were then done, I left the room, sort of awake.

I put on some clothes and went to the restroom. As I was getting ready, I looked into the mirror. I didn't look 19 to a lot of people I met in college. Some of them even questioned if I was in college. I was tall enough to be considered and a lot of those students looked as old as I did, so I didn't get it. My eyes were as dark and blue as they were as they were back then. My hair was also similar to when I was 15, but as I got older, it drooped down more in the front and flipped up in the back. I was still very skinny, which I always wondered if that was a good thing or not.

I stopped staring at myself in the mirror and left the bathroom. Entering the hall, I checked the calendar, showing my class dates and other events. I was done with school for the week, as my only four classes were only two days in the week, being Monday and Wednesday. The latter was the day before. I realized I needed to buy some stuff, so my day was set, being to buy some groceries and supplies for school, as the next semester was approaching, and lastly to visit Rei.

"Father, I'm going out," I announced, unlocking the door.

"Ok, don't be out too late," I heard him say behind.

I looked behind me. "Father, it's 11 AM and I'm nineteen. It's not like I have a curfew or anything."

I heard him snicker as I opened the front door.

I stepped out of the apartment and headed down the stairs, leading to the exit of the building.

The train station wasn't far, being two blocks away from the apartment complex I had been living in. I stepped down the long and wide staircase to the underground station lobby. I looked for the division leading to downtown, which is where the outlets and malls were, as well as the hospital Rei was transferred to after NERV.

I used my entrance pass to get in, waiting for the train. I checked my watch after a while, due to the train going it's entire course before arriving back at my station. It was still pretty early, but there were a ton of people along with me as I boarded the train.

I never thought of downtown Tokyo-2 much over the years. It wasn't very different from Tokyo-3 with exception that there weren't any evacuation areas (aside from the ones used in case of Earthquakes) or technology to keep the buildings protected from the Angels.

Speaking of Angels, a lot had been discovered about them, along with the true cause of Second Impact. My father told me he was responsible, making me livid at him, until he explained himself. Although he knew it was a possibility then, he didn't know it was SEELE's full intention. Nothing came out explaining who specifically was assigned to trigger Second Impact, but GEHIRN, the organization Father was involved in, was certainly blamed. The Japanese government and later the UN was sent this information by an informative in NERV soon after the manmade EVAs were killed. The following day, an international raid was organized upon SEELE's headquarters in most of the countries they were stationed in, but when forces arrived, all of the employees had been found dead or were gone. All of the leaders of SEELE were dead as well, most likely from suicide after the failure of Third Impact.

After the attack, one of the first orders of business in the process of disbanding NERV was to destroy the rest of Lilith in Terminal Dogma. Of course, _I_ was ordered to the honors. I was very resiliant, but was convinced as Father and Misato both said that was my last order in Unit-01. They held their end of the deal, to my surprise. Any evidence of Adam on the other hand, remains in the laboratory Father worked at.

With no threat and no Angels, everything became peaceful for the first time in 15 years. NERV was gone for good, and I was relieved. Here's a difficult question to answer: Why did I suddenly miss it? Especially over time, I realize how much it gave me. A few great friends, a place I could call home, a loving mother figure, a place in society, and the list went on. I came to the same answer everytime that there was no turning back after NERV fell apart. I had got some of those things back plus my father and a life without risking it all by piloting a robot, but there were still things that were missing.

I walked into the supply store, which had just opened for the day, so it was nearly empty. I grabbed a basket and browsed a bit, seeing what the prices were and what was on sale. I then reached for a list in my pocket, and began grabbing things I needed.

As I headed for the cashier, I opened my wallet, revealing a picture of Rei, Asuka, Hikari, Kensuke, Toji, and I somewhere in Tokyo-3. I remember Hikari and I trying to get Asuka and Toji to stop arguing about they way everyone looked or the way we were positioned and take the picture.

I paid for pencils, four notebooks, and a large binder and left the store, beginning the walk of nearly a mile to the hospital.

* * *

As I walked, many experiences of NERV popped into my mind, such as the day I found out Rei's secret:

 _"Rei... isn't the same Rei from yesterday morning, is she?" I asked._

 _Misato sighed._

 _"No. The Rei we knew self-destructed in the 16th Angel's attack," She responded._

 _"But when I talked to Rei last night, she knew me."_

 _"It seems she retains her memories, but a lot of the feelings she experienced earlier vanished."_

 _"So... she isn't human?"_

 _"I don't know. NERV doesn't seem like they want to tell me anything anymore."_

 _"I hope she isn't the last Angel."_

 _"I think we would've known that one, Shinji."_

 _"Yeah, I guess."_

 _"Misato?"_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"Where's Asuka?"_

 _"I don't know. I just hope she is alright."_

 _"There might be a replacement for her coming."_

 _"I hope it's not anyone I know."_

 _"I'm sure it isn't. It didn't go so well last time."_

 _"You could say that again."_

* * *

That's when everything starting to fall apart. Asuka was gone, Rei wasn't around either, and Kaworu came and made everything worse, resulting in the bastard's death. Of course, everything was okay in the end. I had done things I thought I would never do during and after my days at NERV.

I kept walking, now in the heart of the city. The streets were filling up with people, attending their jobs on the last work day of the week.

I passed a restaurant and saw a boy and a girl arguing alone. It reminded me of Asuka and I, but of course, we were in a special situation.

After a 30 minute walk, I saw the hospital where Rei remained.

The building was taller than any other hospital I'd ever seen. Tokyo-2 was the capital of Japan, anyway, so there were a lot of people. As I made my way to the entrance, I spotted a man on a gurney being pushed into the ER entrance. He looked fine from my eyes, but there was probably something going on internally. I opened the entrance, to see a waiting room with hardly anyone in it.

After glancing around the room for a second, I approached the front desk. I had seen the lady at the desk before many times when visiting Rei.

"Hi, I'm Shinji Ikari. I'm here to visit Rei Ayanami."

"It's been a little while, hasn't it Shinji? Go ahead, she's on floor 7 on the door closest to the elevator," she responded.

"Thank you," I added, as I began to walk down the hall toward the elevators.

The doors opened and closed as I entered the elevator, being reminded of that one time I told Rei she squeezed liquid out of a cloth like a mother would. I cringed at the thought of it, as I must have been one awkward 14 year old.

As the elevator began to head up, anxiety was beginning to set in.

 _How will I react? I won't run from this without seeing her first. I sure as hell won't do the same thing I did to Asuka on that day._

The elevator stopped. I stood there for a second, staring into space. I heard a ding and I quickly stepped out, fearing I would go back down to the lobby.

There was only one door in the area I was in, unless I went left or right.

A sign next to the door read:

 _Rei Ayanami_

 _ICU_

 _Checked in March 24th, 2015_

I turned the knob of the door, letting it open itself.

I sighed, and stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind me.

The room was quite large for a public hospital, with the bed on the outer side of the room.

No one was in there at the time, which meant no one could see me if I did or said something emotionally I'd regret.

I approached the bed, seeing Rei for the first time in nearly 2 years.

Rei Ayanami was now abnormally skinny and pale. I thought she had been pale before, but she was almost purely white from staying in the same room for a long time. Her blueish purple hair was messy and grew to her mid-back and her fingers and feet were bony and looked frail, also from being in a coma. It was tough to see. Although I didn't think she was getting enough attention, the hospital was the most populated in the city, which is the capital of a country, not to mention how long Rei had been there.

I stood there for a while, not even noticing all of the IVs in her arm. There was a heart rate monitor just next the bed.

"Ayanami..." I managed to say, holding back my emotions.

I was about to burst and blame myself for everything aloud like I used to, but I just stood there.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to see you again. It's just grown hard, Ayanami. It's hard to see you like this," I explained to her. I had read online on how coma patients may hear what people are saying, so I tried talking.

"You don't know how much has changed, Ayanami. I'm almost back to square one. I have no one except my father. Living with Father is great and all, but he can be busy, which means I have no one to spend any time with. I know Misato calls and all, but I just feel so distant. If only you knew what's happened. I'm sorry for not visiting for a while."

There was another silence, as I knew no one was there to respond.

"Why must you be in this situation? Why you of all people? You helped change things for me, you were one of the first to do so. You don't deserve this, you were their puppet trying to break free, trying to do the right thing."

Silence.

"God damnit, Ayanami! Why did you have to try fusing with Lilith?"

Still no one there.

I sat in a folding chair behind me.

I held my head in my hands, just like I always used to. I didn't cry, but I was sure as hell frustrated. It kept building and building.

Suddenly, I had the urge to stand, knocking over the chair behind me.

I turned away from the comatose Rei, about to leave.

"Please come back to me, Rei."

I took one step and heard a whisper that I thought was my mind, but I was dead wrong.

"Ikari is calling me," the voice said.

After I heard what I thought wasn't real, there was a change in the heart rate monitor, which stopped me right in my tracks. Next thing I knew, I see a murse rush in, followed by a doctor.

After that, it seemed like a blur. I rushed out, knowing I did something wrong this time.

I barely remember where I was going, although I ended up at home. I only remember the guilt and the pain along with it.

* * *

I ran up the stairs to the apartment, nearly stumbling as I opened the door.

Father wasn't there, but I knew he'd be back soon, so that left only one person to talk to:

Misato.

I picked up the home phone, typing in Misato's cell. I desparately hoped she'd pick up. It rang once, it rang twice, it rang once more, and just when I thought she wasn't going to answer I hear a clicking noise.

"Hello?" I heard, obviously being the intended person.

"Misato?" I asked, heaving.

"Shinji? What's wrong? You don't sou-"

"I visited Ayanami and I think I screwed everything up. I was yelling and calling for her and her heart rate got fast as I was leaving and-"

"Calm down, Shinji. I know it's hard and these things happen but-"

"No! Doctors came rushing in! Something's happening to her, Misato, you have to believe me!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Ok then, this is... big. Should I come today then?"

"If you can. Please," I begged.

"Fine, I'll be there within a few hours. Does your dad know?"

"He should be home any minute. I'll tell him everything."

"Alright. See you soon, Shinji."

"Bye."

The phone connection was cut. I leaned on the wall, slowly falling to sit down.

* * *

 _This might be my fault. I don't know anymore._

I remained there for at least half of an hour, before hearing the front door open.

"Shinji? Are you home?" I heard my father call.

"Yes, Father," I answered, with obvious worry and sadness in my voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked, coming into my line of sight.

"Go to the hospital," I responded.

"Is there something wrong with Rei, Shinji?"

"I don't know anymore. Misato should be here soon. Go."

As soon as I answered his question, he walked out of the house, leaving me alone once more.

I moved to my bedroom, laying on my bed.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but I heard a knock on the door.

 _Misato._

I slowly made my way to the entrance, hearing multiple knocks.

"Shinji? Open the do-"

I stopped her mid sentence, as I opened it.

Misato didn't look any different. Age hadn't touched her one bit.

"Hi, Misato."

"Shinji..." She just barely made out, shocked to see my expression.

"Come in," I invited. She did so, as I took her bag and put it in the guest room.

I came back to the living room, sitting next to Misato.

"So what's up with Rei? What happened?"

"I don't know what happened to Rei. I had just come to see her for a moment that turned into a long time, in which I broke down. I called for her, but then decided to leave. As I was leaving, a few doctors rushed in, and the rest of it is a blur."

"I understand. Is this the reason you called me here early?"

"I needed someone to talk to. Father's been busy."

"When did Gendo leave to see what happened?"

"Just after I called."

"He's been gone for hours! That's worrying, not for Gendo, but for..."

She stopped after realizing what she was about to say.

She then smiled at me.

"Do you wanna know the real reason I wanted to come? I was going to surprise you, but do you want to know?" she asked.

"No. It might be ruined by my sulking. Save it for later."

"Ok."

There was a silence, before an urge came to ask something.

"Have you talked to Asuka lately?" I asked.

"No, she has a job now, so we haven't spoken in a few months."

"Oh."

I wanted to ask if Asuka hated me as well, but pulled back.

"What does Kaito do for a living again?" I asked.

"He's an intel agent in the government to prevent things like Seele from happening again. That's how I met him, silly. I remember that day where I was at a meeting for ex-NERV and government officials who asked us questions. Only Aoba, Hyuga, Fuyutsuki and I were there, well at least who I personally knew. I went as an informant from then on and eventually he got to know me and asked me out. The rest is history."

"I remember Fuyutsuki inviting us to go, but my father refused to let me," I added.

"Is he still around, in Tokyo-2?" Misato asked.

"Yeah, he's a biology and chemistry professor at the college I go to. I signed up for his class last year, but it didn't go far for a degree or anything. Probably because I'm majoring in both Music and English."

I was starting to think Misato was only talking to me to calm me down, and she was good at it, considering her calming methods from when I was in NERV.

"Are any of your junior high friends around?" she asked.

"Toji and Hikari live together somewhere downtown. I helped him pay for the apartment as a birthday gift. Hikari doesn't know that though. She's in Tokyo University, but I only see them at the few parties and get-togethers we have. I think Kensuke is deployed, but I'm not sure. All I know is that in the Japanese Air Force."

"Oh, good for them. They all seem to be doing well."

"Have you seen Hyuga, Aoba, or Maya lately?" I asked.

"Maya's in America or Canada right now, so that's a definite no. Aoba lives a few towns over from me. He's tried so hard to chase after Maya. Hyuga is actually my neighbor as of recently. He's got a little boy now."

"Wow. Sounds like they are in a different world."

"If you think about it, they kind of are. Hyuga's a completely different person and Maya is now a mystery to me. But Aoba is Aoba."

After a little while, I heard the door open.

"I'm home, Shinji." My father said, in a semi-monotone voice.

My father then spotted Misato.

"Why hello there, Misato. It's been a while."

"Indeed it has," she responded.

"How's Ayanami, Father?" I asked.

"Fine. They don't know what's wrong, but you changed something. They request that you come back soon."

"That's good, ain't it Shinji?" Misato asked, elbowing me gently.

I didn't answer.

"It's been a few hours and it's getting dark. I'll make dinner," I finally said, standing up.

"It's been a while since I've had your cooking, Shinji. Has he gotten any better, Gendo?" Misato asked, trying to remain positive.

"Oh, most definitely. Not a single class either," My father complimented.

I had a small smile, trying to hold in both my mixed feelings and my urge to scream.

It took a while, but I made a full course meal, on the occasion that Misato was here.

After taking a few bites of all the food I made, Misato looked like she was about to eat the table if I had cooked it.

"Oh, Shinji. You sure have outdone yourself."

"Try cooking for high school and college parties. Of course Hikari would help me but it's a hassle," I added.

I looked at Father's face as he cringed at the memory of the giant mess we had to clean up when Hikari and I finished cooking for one of those.

I chuckled, briefly snapping out of my trance of Ayanami.

"Does Kaito cook for you, Misato?"

"Most of the time. He's taught me some stuff. I know how to cook certain dishes when Kaito's not home."

"Like instant noodles?" I asked, making myself and Father snicker.

She gave me a face of dignity and said, "Not anymore, Shinji. You can't make fun of me anymore."

"How 'bout you cook for me tomorrow, then?"

She blushed, almost in defeat, but then went back to her face of dignity.

"You're on, Ikari!"

After dinner, Father went to his computer to work. Misato went to her room and fell right to sleep. I decided to sit in my bed and see if I could sleep, but sat there for a while. I turned on a movie for a little while, falling asleep halfway through.

* * *

I woke up in a completely pitch black room, with a spotlight over me.

"What is this? It doesn't feel like it's real, but at the same time, it doesn't feel like a dream."

"You are right, Shinji," a quiet, familiar voice said.

I turned around.

I saw Rei, who looked like herself now, but wasn't as skinny, and wore the same clothes and bandages as when I first met her.

"What is this, Ayanami?"

"Please, it's not NERV anymore. Call me Rei, as I will call you Shinji now."

"Rei, what is this?" I asked, in a more nervous tone.

"This is me reaching out to you for the last time like this. I was a puppet, a clone, and an abnormal being. Now I am free and since my separation from Lilith, fully human."

"What do you mean? Will I see you again?"

"You know what I mean, Shinji. You know what I was, what I still kind of am."

"I knew you were a clone of my mother. I don't care about that just come back!"

"You will see me soon enough," she answered.

"When?"

"Goodbye, Shinji Ikari." she began to levitate away, disappearing into darkness.

"Wait, Rei! Come back!"

* * *

Everything faded to white as I awoke to Misato shaking me.

"Shinji, Shinji! Wake up! You gotta get up and come with us! C'mon!" she yelled.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's Rei," Misato answered.

"What about her?" I asked.

My father came in.

"She's awake, Shinji."

My eyes widened.

* * *

 **A/N: Whoo this took me a while to write! Thank you for the support on the first chapter. The next chapter will be a big one, it'll be out soon! Is Rei alright? What about Shinji? What did Rei mean? All will be answered. Thanks for reading and please review! Favorite if you like the story! I hope I can update all my stories soon!**

 **Stay cool and IN THE ROBOT,**

 **bakercomics**


	3. Return

**NGE: Another Way**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Return**

"She's awake, Shinji."

Those were the last words I thought I'd hear for a long time, but there they were.

This made me remember visiting Rei for the first time after she was found unconscious. This was after days of treatment and the day after Dad and I finally decided to put our differences aside.

 _"Rei, everything's going to be fine. Our days here are over. To add to this, my father actually wants me to be his son! As soon as you wake up, we'll be out of here and you'll be coming with us. You can finally have a family."_

I realized Asuka was standing at the door behind me.

 _"You seem happy."_

 _"I told you what's happening, Asuka."_

 _"I know, baka. I didn't know you'd be so overwhelmingly positive about it. Especially toward the man who abandoned you, I just hope you don't do something stupid," she explained._

I ignored her last statement, trusting myself enough not to let her take advantage of me.

I guess she noticed, because she changed the subject.

 _"So, how is Wondergirl?" she asked._

 _"I don't know, neither do the doctors. She might recover fast or take a long time."_

 _"As much as I despise her, not even I would put her in this situation."_

 _"I just can't wait to start again when she wakes up."_

Asuka gave a saddened look at me, but I was too absorbed in my situation that I didn't notice her.

I sat up, leaning against the wall behind my bed.

"T-that's impossible! S-she can't be, not in the condition I saw her yesterday!" I spat out, too shocked to believe anything.

"I received a call from the hospital. I'm not the one who said it," Father responded.

"I-I don't know what to do or say, this is..." I said, trailing off.

Misato gave a small smile.

"It's obvious, Shinji. We're going to go see her. She's probably waiting for us, mainly you," she explained, taking my hand.

I wondered at the time how Misato got so good at cheering me up, considering she used to use seduction.

"I'll get ready, I guess," I said, breaking a second of silence.

I thought I was never going to be ready, as everything was finally catching up to me, and it was coming fast.

I stood, letting my Father and my old guardian leave the room.

 _Why now, Rei? Now that I've finally broken down over this, you come back now? You've tortured me and worried me sick._

Don't get me wrong here, I was happy she was back. It's just that she came at a hard time.

I slipped on some jeans and an old t-shirt that Rei saw once, just in case she needed to reboot her brain for her memories.

I opened my door and put on my shoes, as Misato and Father waited at the front door.

I sighed.

 _Don't screw this up, Shinji._ "Let's go," I ordered, wanting to get there as fast as possible.

I opened the door and let my guardians out. Misato and I followed Father, as he planned to take his car instead of the train.

Father pulled out of his parking spot, so we could get in.

I sat in the back and Misato sat in the passenger seat.

Misato turned back and looked a little concerned.

"Are you alright? Are you afraid Rei changed or something?" she asked.

"I'm just nervous because of yesterday. Anyway, change would be good for her. We aren't EVA Pilots who follow orders anymore, so I hope she has a bit more emotion and freedom," I explained.

"I'm sure she does, Shinji, considering she refused my last order to her. She knew what I was doing was wrong but she unknowingly went the wrong way as well," Father responded.

There was silence, as I'm sure we were all remembering what happened that day. It was almost the end of the world after all.

"I'm sure you knew she began to change leading up to that day," I commented, breaking the silence.

"I knew she began to develop more human-like tendancies when you and Miss Soryu interacted with her more and more frequently. I never paid attention to it, only because I was blinded by my goal," Father said.

"I wasn't around her often either. I just thought she was quiet," Misato added.

I remembered (and cringed) the day I first went to her apartment and compared it to the last time I saw her awake. Of course, she was still Rei, but the last time I saw her, she seemed more mysterious and moody than usual.

I'm surprised my father never took some measures when Rei began to change, almost leading to end of the world.

I had to ask myself: Who is Rei Ayanami?

 _She might not remember anything. She may be a completely different person. You may not be able to communicate with her properly._

I was, of course, scared, though all I wanted was to see Rei alive and well at least one more time.

"We're here," I heard Father say, as I felt the car stop.

 _Here we go._

I sighed, as I opened the door closest to me and got out. I walked around the car to Misato's door, where I opened and closed her door as she got out.

"Thank you, Shinji," she said.

I didn't reply, saying nothing on our way in.

Father approached the receptionist I talked only a day earlier.

I didn't listen to their brief conversation, as I looked down at the ground. Misato patted my back softly.

"Everything will be alright, Shinji," she whispered, almost startling me and snapping me out of my trance.

I heard the receptionist excuse my father, and the three of us headed toward the hall of elevators. As we walked down this hall, I began have thinking that the hall looked familiar from before we had mlved to Tokyo 2, but I couldn't think of it right away.

We waited for a couple minutes for the elevator, which felt like hours, almost days.

My heart was beginning to beat faster as I heard the elevator getting closer and closer.

I heard the ding, meaning that the elevator arrived, and my legs moved me into the machine.

There was silence for the umpteenth time, as the anxiety finally finished setting in.

I looked around the elevator to distract myself so many times, but I couldn't do it.

Once more, seconds began to feel like hours. I felt the elevator shake as it moved, as if it were taunting me and making it seem like we were going to fall.

I hadn't felt that way since I was 15. Not even every embarrassing or troubling moment in high school could match the speed of my heartbeat and lack of focus at that moment.

I looked at Misato and Father.

 _Why aren't they talking? Why aren't they being social enough to kill this mood? I feel isolated and no one's doing anything. How am I going to cop-_

My thought process stopped as I heard the ding of the elevator, and felt everything stop.

I sighed.

"Everything will be alright, Shinji," I heard Misato say again.

"I sure hope so," I spat out, stepping out of the elevator.

There it was, the door to her hospital room, and behind it, was someone I almost lost hope for.

My father stepped forward, knocked, and opened it.

Instantly, she appeared, sitting up.

I didn't exactly hear her, but I saw her lips move.

"Ikari," she said.

As I began to walk in, her gaze didn't leave me.

"I-it's been a while, Rei," I managed to say, sitting in the same seat as the day prior.

Father and Misato stood silent near the entrance, knowing what I had needed to do.

"Yes, it has," she responded.

"Do you know anything that happened in between when you were last awake and now?" I asked.

She looked away, blinked, and her gaze was directed at me once more.

"We aren't in Tokyo-3 anymore, Lilith and I are no longer the same, and I dreamt of you just before waking up," she answered.

She looked toward the entrance, at Misato and Father.

"Major Katsuragi, Commander Ikari," she called, with a dark tone when she said my father's name.

"NERV disbanded after Shinji and Asuka defeated SEELE's EVAs. Please, call me Misato. It's good to see you again, Rei," Misato said, reintroducing herself to the ex-First Child.

Father walked up to Rei's bed.

"Rei, I'm sorry for what I have done. Call me whatever, but I just want to make it known that I regret everything I did to you. I've changed since then." he apologized.

Rei didn't respond, but turned to me.

"Are you with your father now? Did he say the same to you? Did he mean it?" Rei asked, in an almost assertive way.

"Yes. I live with him, and you will be coming home with us when you leave here," I answered.

She turned back to Father.

"I accept your apology," Rei told him.

"Thank you," he said.

Father turned to me.

"I'm going to go talk to the doctor and see when we can get Rei out of here," he explained.

"Okay. I'll stay here with Rei," I replied.

As he left, I saw Misato give me a concerned look from the corner of my eye.

"I'll come with you, Gendo," she said, quickly leaving.

She shut the door behind her, leaving Rei and I alone.

There was a short silence, as I looked down at the floor. I looked back up, and saw Rei looking at me.

"How long have I been comatose, Ikari?" she asked.

"You've been in the same bed for four years. Another thing, call me Shinji. We aren't in a professional setting anymore," I responded.

"You look like you have changed," she pointed out.

"Only because I'm 19 now. You've changed more than I have," I replied, looking at her nearly anorexic frame and her other features. Her face seemed the most changed though, as it resembled my mother way more than when she was 14.

"I have not looked at my appearance," she stated.

"Do you feel different?" I asked.

"Yes. There is more weight on my head but I feel something else in my body that I haven't felt before."

"Possibly your frail limbs? Or is it emotionally?"

"I don't exactly know."

I looked around the room, and spotted a hand mirror in an open cabinet.

I handed it to Rei.

"Here."

She took it from me in a gentle manner, looking into it.

The first thing she noticed was her hair, grabbing her lock of it, which was now down her shoulder blades and almost touched her elbows.

After a few moments, her eyes widened.

"I look just like-" She said, stopping.

I sighed.

"My mother?" I asked.

She looked back at me in surprise.

"W-what?" She asked.

"I know what you are, Rei. I thought you'd know that I was told that you are my mother's clone."

"How did you find out? Ikari wouldn't have said anything. Did Lilith tell you?"

I'd never seen this kind of stress in Rei unless it was a life or death situation.

 _Lilith must've been the one talking to me in my dream._

"No, Lilith didn't tell me. I was told right after you died against the 16th Angel by Ritsuko after she was interrogated by SEELE. She killed the rest of your clones in the process, right in front me and Misato."

"I disliked her, but that may only be because of your father. I saw Ikari shoot her right in front of me."

"So that's how she disappeared."

"Yes."

Rei looked around the room for a second.

"I noticed Pilot So- I mean Asuka isn't with you. Might she be in Tokyo-3 or is she not here to visit me?" she asked.

"Asuka moved back to Germany after the disbandment of NERV. I wish you could have seen her after the day Third Impact almost happened. She seemed so remorseful and rarely snapped at me. But I did something to her and wrote to her about it. I haven't heard back since that day. It was hard," I explained.

"Was it that incident in the hospital?" she asked.

My eyes widened.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I saw many people's thoughts, including all of the people in the invasion, during my ascension into Lilith before everything went black. That incident was one of them."

"That must've been painful to see the NERV casualties' thoughts when we were under attack."

"I couldn't feel anything. I was basically nothing but a spectator."

This new side of Rei was something I didn't expect anytime soon, but it was all coming to her so quickly. Maybe the separation from Lilith made her more human.

There was a period of silence, before this happened.

"Why am I crying?" she asked, snapping me out of a trance. Tears rolled down her face.

I remained silent, not knowing what was happening.

I heard a sob, before everything was quiet again.

I finally opened my mouth.

"I should be the one crying here."

She looked at me.

"Why?"

"Well, you, who's technically my sister, just woke up from a four year coma. I thought I would lose you too. I'm sure I've lost Asuka and Misato usually never visits."

"Is that what you call loneliness?" she asked.

"Yes, Rei. I have Father, but I still feel alone."

"Oh."

Before that could go any further, a doctor came in.

"Rei, it's time for you to take a few tests. Shinji, your father is waiting outside," he said.

"Well, I have to go, Rei. I'll come by later," I stated, getting up and walking toward the door.

"Goodbye, brother," I heard Rei say behind me. This made me well up as I closed the door behind me.

 **A/N: This one took me a while to do! I hope it turned out okay. Sorry if it's a little short, but school started again so I've got less time to do this stuff. I'm trying to change Rei to give her a personality as she begins to develop emotions. Please R and R, thanks for reading and for the fast growth for the story!**

 **Stay cool,**

 **bakercomics**


	4. It Goes On

**_Another Way_**

 ** _Chapter 4_**

 ** _It Goes On_**

Over the next few days, Rei was in and out of testing, both physical and mental.

Oddly, her physical effects from the coma were miniscule. She could almost walk, though stumbling when getting up or after walking for a while. Despite this, we were told to let her get used to her consciousness, by keeping her in the apartment when she left the hospital until she had gotten used to her surroundings.

Mentally, on the other hand, Rei was the opposite. It didn't show on the outside, Rei's brain signals were all over the place and nearly overflowing with emotional activity. The day we heard news for that, my father explained what the probably reason was:

"I knew her emotional state would pop out eventually," he said, as we walked to the car in the parking lot.

"Is it because she was away from orders and unconscious for 4 years?" I asked.

"You're half right. One of the reasons she went to see Dr. Akagi was to keep her emotions suppressed. She was on medicine for that," he answered.

"Is this why she was so obedient?" Misato asked.

"No, she was like that from the start. To keep her that way was my job."

"Then why did you have to keep her on that stuff?" I asked, remembering the pills and realizing what they were.

"To keep her from being distracted and to prevent what happened to the first Rei."

"What happened to her, Father?"

"Dr. Naoko Akagi, Ritsuko's mother, strangled her to death after Rei repeated what I said, out of anger. This was just after your mother died, and the second reason that GEHIRN turned into NERV."

"So the Rei we met was the second Rei?" Misato asked.

"Yes," Father answered, pushing his glasses back into his eyes.

Even on the first day of her consciousness, I noticed sides of Rei I hadn't seen before. She had cried, laughed, and questioned way more than I could even her think would come out of her. She was always so quiet and reserved at NERV.

At that point, we couldn't take her home yet. Instead I (along with Misato) visited her daily to check up on her. To be honest, her behavior hadn't changed much after the first day of her awakening, but it seemed as if the atmosphere of our relationship from pilots to (technically) half-siblings was different. Rei didn't seem to be phased by presence at NERV or my relationship to my father, though we did reach those subjects eventually. One time, without Misato, it hit hard.

I just finished explaining where everyone went after SEELE was confirmed to be gone.

"Man, I wish they were still around," I commented, leaning back in my usual chair.

Rei looked away from me. Something seemed to be distracting her.

"What is it, Rei?" I asked.

She didn't answered, continuing to stare out the window.

"Rei, he-"

"Do you know what the real key to Third Impact was?" she asked.

"Rei, I don't know what you're talking about," I answered.

"What would have caused the end of the world, Shinji?"

"T-the Evangelions along with Lilith," I hesitantly answered.

"Do you know who the key to Lilith was?"

"Rei, you don't ne-"

"It was me, Shinji. I could've ended it all for you, Misato, Asuka, everyone. But you and Asuka stopped me," she spat out, as she sat on her band with her knees up and her hands on her cheeks.

I saw a tear once more.

I ran up to her, swinging my arms around her.

"That wasn't your fault and you know it. Even I know that and I blame myself for everything. If you did it, no one would've known the wiser. This was SEELE's doing and Father's desperate attempt at bringing our mother back. If there's anyone to blame for this, it's most definitely not you, Rei."

This was not the last time it happened. She was having what the doctors called "waves of new brain activity". They were like mood swings, but they are much more unnatural and are only seen in people such as coma patients or people suffering withdrawal.

Rei was definitely both, being injected and given medicine to suppress emotions or resistance, as well as coming out of a coma.

I began to wonder if this would continue for the rest of her young to full lifespan. The staff said unlikely, but I had my doubts, especially for a case like Rei's.

Although there was the change in our relationship, I still wanted to protect Rei. I didn't know what was to come, neither did my father or Misato. I just wanted to get her home safe.

And it was about time too.

After a class one day, I made my way to the hospital to meet up with Father and Misato.

I stayed at the ground floor as I learned Rei was having a physical therapy test to see if she was capable of action.

I walked down the hallway to see my two guardians standing, watching through the window.

"Hey," I greeted, standing next to Father.

"Hello," I heard Father and Misato say back.

"How's she doing?" I asked.

"Fine. Like normal. It's just she gets dizzy after a while of walking," Father responded.

"Will this be her final test?" I asked.

"Maybe. I hope so, Shinji," Misato answered.

I watched Rei walk back and forth, across the room. She looked very bored.

This view brought back memories, as I saw Rei constantly walking through the halls of NERV alone.

I also remember Asuka continuously insulting her as well. I didn't miss that, but it was definitely on my mind.

The sight of Rei constantly walking back and forth gave me hope in a way, though it was probably incredibly boring for her.

Suddenly, she stopped and sat down.

A doctor came out of the door to the room.

"Ms. Ayanami seems to be doing great, extraordinary for a coma patient of four years. She can move as if nothing's happened. This means that this was her last physical therapy session. You should be able to take her home soon, possibly immediately," he explained.

That put a large smile on my face. We were finally able to set her free of this cage that is the hospital. We would be a whole family now, living together after so long.

"That sounds great," Father said.

"There's one catch though. You might need to keep her inside for a while. Let her get used to her surroundings since she's been in here since her awakening."

"Understood, sir. Thank you very much," Father responded, shaking the man's hand as he walked away.

I sighed in relief. It was all over. I didn't have to question whether or not this was my fault anymore. Everything was fixed at home now.

But something was still there. Something was still dragging me back into the dark.

Asuka.

I knew I had to do something about her eventually, but I couldn't think about her at that moment.

I had to support Rei.

Father was gone for the day to see release and legal policies at the hospital and our insurance company and I had classes that day, so Misato went home to see her husband and to get more clothes.

At my last (and 2 hour long) lesson for the day, I began to wonder. How was I gonna tell everyone else about Rei waking up?

I began to drift off as I finished my last line of notes, until I heard.

"Class dismissed."

I sighed as I stayed in my seat, with the all of the rows of desks filling with people rushing out the door.

I always stayed in my spot until the crowds disappeared. It was much more worth waiting than being pushed around.

When the last person exited the class, I stood up and left the room, eyeing the staircase leading to the train station.

It began growing cloudy outside, as September began to pass. I walked in the cold without a jacket, not really caring much, just as I did in the days of NERV, when the end was nearing. Those last 2 months before New Year were a mess, as I grow deeper and deeper in a pool of LCL mixed with my emotional state at the time. When January 1st struck, which was the day that almost ended the world, I was about to drown. I pulled through, thankfully.

I walked up the steps to the train I usually take home, before spotting someone familiar.

"Shinji?" I heard them say.

"Oh, h-hi Hikari. It's been a while, hasn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah, it has. How's life?" she asked.

"Better than usual. I have Misato staying with Father and I for a little while."

"That's great."

"Yeah. How are you and Toji doing?"

"Great. He's gotten higher in the ranks for his job. We'll probably be able to find a house nearby somewhere once I graduate."

"Sounds like you two are doing well," I replied, smiling.

Most of the people I had met in the year at NERV hadn't changed much physically or personally. Hikari was no exception when it came to her personality, still being that orderly and civilized girl she was in middle and high school. Her appearance, on the other hand, began to change, with her age from 14 to 18 evidently showing. She no longer had those freckles she had as teenager either, which oddly weirded me out.

Anyway, I wanted to tell her about Rei, but I thought I should leave it a surprise, or I should wait until Rei came back home.

"Hey, maybe you and Toji, maybe even Kensuke if he's around should come over in a few days. Catch up, you know?" I invited.

"That sounds nice. Maybe we should. I'll let you know soon, but I have to go. Toji's probably waiting," Hikari responded, walking away.-?

"Alright, see you later." I said back.

I travelled home for the day, only to find that Misato returned. Later that night, Father returned home exhausted, and passed out in his room.

The next day I was completely free of classes, so I slept in a bit. I eventually got out of bed, with Misato nowhere to be found. I heard Dad leave for work earlier that morning, so I made myself some coffee and sat on the couch.

I heard Misato step out of her room as soon as I turned on the TV.

"Morning, Misato. Want some breakfast?" I asked.

"No, my stomach doesn't feel very good right now. I'm going to head to the restroom," she responded.

"Ok."

I heard Misato groan from the bathroom, eventually hearing her throw up. I rushed into the bathroom.

"Are you alright, Misato?" I asked, knocking on the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure you aren't sick?"

She opened the bathroom door, and sighed.

"I was going to save it for when Rei got home, but I guess I better tell you," Misato explained.

"What is it, Misato? You don't have to tell me." I asked.

"You were going to figure it out based on what happened here anyway. I'm pregnant, Shinji. I found out a week before I came here. That's why I chose to come and visit you, but we got distracted by Rei waking up," Misato revealed.

I lit up inside.

 _No wonder she isn't drinking._

"That's great! How far along are you?" I asked.

"7 weeks based on what I read. Please don't tell the others yet."

"I won't, Misato," I responded.

Misato got cleaned up and changed, as I made a small breakfast for me and (just in case) Misato.

She came out, we sat at the table and began eating.

There were a few moments of silence before breaking it with my intentions.

"Hey, I've got an idea. I was thinking about having a homecoming party for Rei, when we're set to, by inviting Fuyutsuki, Toji and Hikari over for dinner and surprising them, since they live nearby. I talked to Hikari yesterday as well and she seemed excited to see me," I explained.

"That isn't a bad idea. Maybe I can get Hyuga and Aoba to come. Man, I wish more of us NERV personnel were around."

"I agree. Can Kaito come?" I asked.

"Maybe. He's had a lot of work since I left."

"Understandable. He's a man of the government, anyway."

"Yeah..." Misato trailed off, as if she wanted to say something.

Misato looked down, then back at me.

"I'll be back. I have to make a phone call," she said.

"Alright," I said, as she walked out of the room.

I tried to hear her conversation from the kitchen, but could only make out a little bit.

I heard Japan and come.

I began to think of whom she was talking to, but my father opened the door with a smile on his face.

He was usually at work at this time.

The next thing I knew, we were set.

Rei was coming home.

 ** _A/N: Hey everybody! Here's the new chapter. It's a little late but I had to make some adjustments and my internet was down for a bit. Sorry if it's a bit filler-like, but the next couple chapters should pick up the pace. I know the chapter was very Shinji-centered, but it was my intent before the next chapter._**

 ** _Ciao and stay cool,_**

 ** _bakercomics_**


	5. Homecoming

**NGE: Another Way**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Homecoming**

"She's set to go home I don't know how she made such a fast recovery after a four year coma, but Ms. Ayanami here pulled through. It's been quite a ride watching what's happened in the past month compared to the two years I've been assigned to Rei," The doctor explained.

Yes, it was the day I had longed for after 4 long years. It was indeed the day we would bring Rei home, well, her new home. When the doctor said those words, I couldn't help but think about Rei's old apartment in Tokyo-3. I remember the steel, bomb shelter-like walls, all the trash from food, bandages, and pills, the few pieces of furniture. It wasn't fit for anyone. If it wasn't Rei in that spot, anyone else would have suffered. Rei was used to things like that before her coma, but it almost seems as if she was a different person when she awoke; she couldn't take much.

I saw my father bow, with Misato following, eventually I did as well as he said:

"Thank you very much for letting Rei be supervised and pull through her condition here for this long, I apologize for any inconveniences we may have caused like the lack of visits in the past year."

"There's no problem at all. Things like this happen, and that's what we're here for. Now go get her and we'll finally sign you out of here."

"Thanks again," I said as he left.

We began the normal routine: we made our way to the elevator and ascended to the floor Rei was normally on.

"Oh! I forgot I'm sleeping in Rei's room! Do I need to head home?" Misato realized.

There was a moment of silence.

"She can sleep in my room for a night or two and then I'll sleep in the living room. You can switch if you truly want to," I reasoned, wanting Misato to stay a little longer.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Father seemed like he was going to say something before I immediately intervened.

"Yes, of course. I still do owe you for letting me live with you all those years ago."

"Owe me? I owe you! You cooked and cleaned that place more in one day than I did in a year! You don't need-"

"No, no. I do. It'll all be fine."

I smiled to reassure her, she sighed in defeat and smiled back.

A ding was heard, and the elevator door opened.

I hadn't Father smile as wide as he did when we exited the elevator since we moved in together.

We approached the room and I opened the door.

I saw Rei standing in the opposite direction, staring out the window into the cloudy sky.

"Rei," Father called, quietly.

She seemed startled as she turned around.

"Hello," Rei said back, seeming worried.

"You're set to go. We can take you home now," he explained, as he stepped closer to his old pilot.

Rei remained silent, but began smiling after a few seconds.

"At last," I heard her whisper.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Y-yes," she answered, answering with a shy smile.

We began the walk out, as I stood next to her to make sure she didn't fall or anything. As we descended from the upper floors, I made a sudden realization after seeing Rei out of the room.

"Wait a minute! We didn't buy any spare clothes for Rei! How's she going to change out of this miserable hospital robe? We aren't prepared for this at all!" I pointed out, in a stressful tone.

I guess I made a dumb face or something, because the next moment Rei burst into laughter and Misato was chuckling.

I stepped back a moment. Rei was... laughing?

My dad sighed.

"I guess we have been a bit distracted with other things. Let's get her settled in at home first."

"Alright, Father."

The elevator made a ding as we hit the bottom floor. As we walked down the next corridor, I saw the receptionist smiling at us as we made our way to the exit.

The waiting room was surprisingly empty and the hospital seemed almost desolate, with the receptionist being the only employee or other person in sight.

I heard the front entrance open, as I mindlessly stepped.

I turned back to Rei, leading her to the outside world.

There was bewilderment in her red eyes that looked upward, into the light blue sky.

"Th-this is the f-first time out of the..." Rei quietly said, trailing off.

I remained quiet, as did Misato and Father. Although, I didn't think they heard her.

Rei stood there for a second. Soon, a tear and a small smile appeared on her face.

We soon approached the car, where I let Rei in first and followed her into the back seat.

It was a quiet drive home, mostly because of the elephant in the room, or the car perhaps.

I couldn't help but think we were pushing Rei too hard by immediately taking her home without warning. This might've been the wrong thing to rush, considering the doctors' orders. I looked to my left. I mean, she _looked_ fine (except of how thin she was) and seemed grateful to leave the place where she laid practically dead for four long years, but like I said earlier, we were barely prepared for this. At least _I_ wasn't.

In _my_ mind, everything was coming too fast. Next thing you know, Asuka could be busting through our front door to kill me or _he_ could be back from the dead.

I'm sure you know what I mean by _he._ I don't mention him due to the hell that bastard put me through after I ended him against my will. Everything was his fault in those few days that I knew him, well his and SEELE's.

I knew I shouldn't speak my mind, so I just sat there, constantly checking on Rei and going back to my thoughts.

The ride felt like hours, although the house was only half of one away.

In the duration of most of the drive home, I couldn't help but look back and think about what I could've done or could've said. It could've been anything. I didn't know who had it the worst, so I couldn't get a straight answer.

Father had failure in his desperate attempts of bringing back Mother, before realizing his only family left was right before his eyes, being nearly too late.

Misato was betrayed, suffered through Second Impact first-hand while losing her father, lost the only one she thought she could love, only to be feared by me and shunned by Asuka.

Rei was born out of someone else's life, treated as if she could be replaced, forced to do NERV's bidding, got killed _twice_ and ultimately took the wrong path to finally rebel.

Asuka lost her mother twice, relied on her advantages too much to realize they weren't who she truly was, failed to use her true personality because she was too insecure (which resulted in misinterpretation of her and others' feelings), was tortured mentally to scoop out all of her flaws, and fell into a nearly catatonic state.

I didn't want to be selfish and pity myself more than the others, but I had too much wrong to even list off.

The thing is that I couldn't help but think that we all had sort of a happy ending. Was this our redemption? Our revival? Or was it not over?

I felt the car stop.

"Here we are, Rei. We're home," I told her, with my hand on her shoulder.

"Home..." I heard her whisper.

I once more thought about her "home", and how this could truly be her first.

Father got out and grabbed things from the hospital that they gave us, while Misato and I helped Rei out, leading her upstairs.

When I opened the door, Rei didn't seem to want to come in.

"What's up Rei, why won't you come in?" I asked.

"I feel as if I'm intruding," she answered, shyly.

I knew exactly what Misato was going to say and left it to her.

"You aren't intruding, Rei. This is your home now, too," the guardian said, giving me a wink.

Those words brought back so many good memories with Misato in the apartment.

She reacted in the same way I did, until I saw a tear.

"Rei-" I was about to say until:

"I wouldn't have known I needed a home before, but now that I'm here..." she trailed off.

"It's okay, I know the feeling. You should've seen me just after I moved in." I reassured her.

She smiled at me.

 _Phew. Her brain activity must be so off the charts right now, it's like a movie script._

"We'd best get you out of this thing you've been wearing," Misato pointed out, snapping me out of my trance.

Misato looked around the younger girl.

"You're about my size, come on, let's see," Misato almost ordered.

The two girls went into the room where Misato was currently staying and shut the door behind them.

I guess I looked worried as I sat down on the couch, as my father said:

"Everything will be alright, Shinji. It sure will," he said.

Later that night, I left for the store to find stuff for dinner. Whilst there, I was poked on the back. I turned around, only to see Fuyutsuki.

"Hey, Fuyutsuki. How are you?" I asked.

"I'm good. You seem to have quite to have quite the basket of ingredients there," he answered.

"Oh, Misato's visiting for a little while."

"I hear more than that from Gendo. He's been fixated on something else whenever we're at lunch when you have class."

"I guess someone was going to figure it out. Rei's awake."

"Really? How didn't they find out about who she is or how it happened?"

"You'll have to ask Father about that after we throw a party for her. We're trying to have sort of a NERV reunion. I'll let you know when."

"That's nice. Well, I better let you go. Goodbye, Shinji."

"See ya!" I waved.

When I got home, Misato had moved her stuff to my room.

Rei was no longer in her hospital attire, but in a green t shirt and blue shorts. Of course, they were a little big on her due to her excessive weight loss.

I served up quite a feast, considering it was a special day.

"OH MY, SHINJI! YOU'VE OUTDONE YOURSELF!" Misato cheered.

"Why thank you, Misato," I responded.

Rei seemed overwhelmed by the amount of food on the table, unlike the other two, who dug right in. I wondered if she remembered that she was vegetarian from her previous self after she died, came back, and got knocked out for four years.

Soon, she was just like Father and Misato, eating three times faster than me. I wasn't very hungry, so I began cleaning whatever was finished. By the time dinner was finished, Father went to bed because of his early work schedule that week. It was still a little early for bed, so Misato, Rei, and I watched a movie until one of them began to fall asleep.

As I lay on the couch, waiting for my slumber to hit me, I realize my home was complete.

Something still bothered me.

' _Damn it, Asuka. Why must you haunt me?_ ' I asked myself as I slowly lost consciousness.

I woke up late the next morning, without classes for the day.

I knew Dad was already gone because of the coffee mug on the counter, but no one else was around.

I made breakfast for the two ladies in the house and I, quickly ate, and waited for one of them to wake up.

Suddenly, I heard a door open from behind me.

"G'morning, Shinji," Misato greeted. She was already ready for the day.

"Good morning. You're ready for the day. Got something planned?" I asked.

"Not really. Just wanted to get out of being tired."

I had my doubts but didn't really know or care what she was really up to at the time.

"I guess it's time I got ready as well," I responded, sneaking into my room where Rei was sleeping. I looked at her for a second. I don't think I had seen her sleep peacefully before. I grabbed some clothes and escaped to the bathroom to change.

I got out of the bathroom, seeing Misato eating breakfast. I sat, watching the news for now. Minutes later, I hear a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," I said.

I jumped over the couch and opened it.

My eyes widened, as if this were a dream or a nightmare.

Then she appeared, the one I'd least expect to see.

"Hello, Shinji."

"A-Asuka?!"

 ** _A/N:_**

 ** _So sorry to leave you there but that's how this is gonna go! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and sorry for the delay! I'm planning out what lays ahead for Shinji from here. Next chapter soon!_**

 ** _stay cool,_**

 ** _bakercomics_**


	6. Homecoming, II

**Neon Genesis Evangelion: Another Way**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Homecoming, II**

 _Shinji_

I remember standing in the exact spot Misato showed to me when I had first arrived. It had only been 2 days since humanity was nearly wiped out. Most of the NERV staff were off fixing things at the battlefield and at meetings, and I was tired of being at the infirmary to check on Misato and Rei. I stared out into the new sea that Rei II had created only weeks before.

Most of the buildings in Tokyo 3 were destroyed, while the rest were sealed underground in what remained of the Geo-Front.

I felt remorse for all the damage caused in the year I was there, by both the angels and the EVAs. I wished I had moved to Tokyo-03 for another reason, with Misato being my guardian in some other way, Father acting like a father, Mother being alive, Rei being a close friend or sister, and Asuka...

My thought process faded as the last name crossed my mind. _What is Asuka to me?_

Obviously, it wasn't clear as bad memories and guilt shadowed over a true answer.

Speaking of the red-headed devil, I saw hear approach me from feet away.

"Hello, Shinji," she greeted, still passive after the attack.

"Hey, Asuka," I greeted back.

"What are you doing all the way out here?"

"I took a walk and ended up here. Crazy how something so devastating can turn into this," I answered, looking at the man-made lake infront of me.

"Huh?" she asked, turning to where I was staring.

She gazed at the sea with her blue-green eyes.

I couldn't resist looking back toward her. Her gaze was always sincere, the opposite of what I thought her personality was. The expression in Asuka's eyes seemed accepting yet sad, as if she'd been free for the first time, but to her it wasn't worth it.

"You're right. It's beautiful after something so devastating."

"To think we fought here three days ago. I hope to never see anything like that again."

Asuka turned back to me.

"You wouldn't fight to save the world again?" she asked, half-jokingly.

"I'd probably be dead before I see that day. I'm sure everything is over by now. The true question to ask is what lays next for mankind."

"Ever since that bastard in the sky nearly destroyed my mental state and since we nearly died, I've been reconsidering what I said. I don't think- no - I can't rely on piloting anymore."

"It's impossible now. We're in a normal world now, Asuka," I pointed out, beginning to walk back toward the Geo-Front, with Asuka (quietly) trailing behind.

4 years later, we stood the same. Face to face with an open door between us, her eyes peered at me, those same eyes I saw as she left, those same eyes I thought I'd never see again. These few seconds felt like hours.

Aside her obvious transition from 14 to 19, Asuka didn't look all that different. She still had her fiery locks and her small closed mouth that opened wide when she used to scream at me. Her nose had grown a little larger, but it almost wasn't noticeable. What I did notice that there was a small scar below her left eye from the last battle. She was still Asuka though, no matter how old she was.

I still had the same startled expression on my face. She appeared at of nowhere in my eyes.

 _Is this a fantasy? There's no way she could be back for me. Has she forgiven me? Or is she here just to bring me back to the grief I suffered before_?

 _Is she even here for me?_

Misato suddenly appeared next to me.

"Asuka! It's so good to see you!" she said, hugging her previous roommate.

"It's good to see you too, Misato. It's been too long!" the younger girl responded.

I still stood there, silent and overwhelmed.

 _This is all coming too fast_...

Suddenly, Asuka's face was very close to mine.

"What's wrong, Shinji? Aren't you glad to see me?" she asked.

My face was soon tinted with red, as her face was centimeters from mine.

I backed up by a few steps.

"O-of course I'm glad to see you. It's been t-too long," I replied.

 _Maybe not long enough..._

"I'm glad to see you too, baka. I just wish you'd lighten up sometimes," she replied, with a smile. That smile, was a smile I hadn't seen since Arael, not even after the last battle did she smile like that.

 _Has_ _she gone back to lying to herself about her personality?_

 _I hope she's joking. Please be joking. Please don't be like this to me again._

"How's Wondergirl?" she asked, approaching Misato.

"Rei's actually recovered as of late. Ironically, she's in her room sleeping," Misato answered.

"Oh, really? It's about time we catch up."

I remained quiet. I didn't like what was going on at all, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel a longing to see Asuka. It all came at once, rendering me speechless.

My old co-pilot looked around.

"This place sure is different from the old apartment," she pointed out.

As she said that, I was thrown back to the days of the old apartment. All the fun memories, bad memories, struggle and awkwardness flowed through my brain.

I had my shoes on already, and began eyeing the door.

 _I can't take this right now_ _, but I can't leave. Yes, I can if I come up with an excuse. But I shouldn't. But I have to!_

"I gotta go pick some stuff up. Please, get settled in and stuff. OkIgottagonowbye!" I announced, nearing my exit.

The door was nearly shut, before I heard a "Wait!". I still shut the door and was about to make a run for it before the door opened again and I felt a grabbing hand around my wrist.

 _Damn._

I turned around in defeat, only to see Asuka.

"I just got here! If you're going anywhere, baka, at least let me come. I wanna see the town, you know?" she insisted, angry at first, but with a hint of a smile toward the end.

Even with the rarity of a non-arrogant smile, I still thought that I wasn't having any of it, but I was defeated, meaning it was that or bust.

"Fine, let's go," I responded, as Asuka let go of my wrist.

Asuka walked back into the apartment for a moment, and came back with a small bag.

We walked down the stairs from the complex and toward the train station.

"I've never seen Tokyo-2 before," Asuka pointed out, trailing me closely.

"Well, I'll tell you now that it's nothing like Tokyo-3."

"I'd prefer that. Gives me a sense of mystery and rids of the past."

I rolled my eyes, still wondering what brought this Asuka back all of a sudden.

 _Is the sense of trauma and relief gone? Does she not remember we are overly similar? Is it because of what I did or that we were separated?_

I then reflected back, I remembered those last few words of that sentence. I had forgotten what I had done to her, and how I told her for a few moments.

 _She remembers. Yes, she does. This is why she's here, following me in particular._

I aimlessly walked toward the train station, while Asuka looked around, remaining quiet.

I thought I heard my name multiple times, but I brushed off, thinking it was apart of my thought process.

I grew deeper into thought, until I felt a tug on my shirt, turning me around.

"Shinji! Earth to Shinji!" Asuka called.

I was snapped out of my trance to see Asuka standing in front of me.

"Huh? What?" I asked.

"I- uh- How close are we? This seems like a long walk." She asked, as I ignored the seeming fact that she was going to say something before.

"It should be just up ahead."

I was right; We turned a corner and arrived at the station. I used my card to get through for the both of us. We were early for the scheduled train, prompting us to sit on one of the benches where we were to be pick.

There was silence around us, despite the many people walking by.

Asuka looked extremely bored, making me start the conversation.

"S-so, how's Germany?" I managed to spit out.

She turned to me, with a little bit of a surprised expression that I, Shinji Ikari, started the conversation.

"Great. I love living in Hamburg."

"Hamburg's a city, right?"

"Yeah, baka."

I frowned at the last word, as if it hadn't been used properly.

"Cool."

That silence and interaction flushed more and more memories into my brain, but instead of thinking of them, I thought too much of the sweeter Asuka I knew after the angels.

 _Why can't you be like her? Aren't you the same person? Can't you change or is it all set in stone? Did I do this?_

I looked down, saddened and disappointed.

 _Well, this is once again_ _fact that I must deal with this._

 _4 years before..._

I remember heading back to my room from Rei's hospital room in NERV HQ.

It was late, so decided to wind down and then sleep.

I arrived in my room, going through my bag on the stuff I was able to get from the apartment before moving into NERV. Most of the place was destroyed, but the foundation was intact.

I pulled my SDAT out, which was changed with new batteries and another tape.

The tape filled my ears with softer and more dramatic sounds than the last. The first tape was a mix between a few new wave bands, pop acts, and classical pieces, while this one I had found had many acoustic or indie acts I hadn't heard of.

I laid there for a while, with my mind fluttering hypnotically in the night sky as the beautiful music played though the tape. The SDAT was still one of the places where I felt most calm, despite my attempts to avoid it.

I nearly fell asleep in the incredibly mesmerising immersion though I pulled through, remaining wide-eyed and expressionless.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door.

"Shinji? You in there?" a feminine voice called.

I pulled the ear buds out and sat up.

"Yes. Come in," I responded, putting the SDAT on the small table next to my bed.

The door opened, with Asuka coming through.

"Hey," she greeted, sitting next to me on the bed.

"What's up?" I replied, in a quiet tone.

"I didn't feel like sleeping just yet, and I didn't want to both Misato, so I came here," she explained, removing her shoes.

"I guess I had nothing to do," I said, slightly lying.

"So, how long until you leave?" she asked.

"Not for a while. Why? Do you want me to leave?" I asked back, half-joking.

She blushed for a second.

"No! Of course not, you baka!"

"Fine then, when do you leave?"

"I don't know. I don't know where I'll go either."

"I think it'll work out in the end. We're not dead after all."

Asuka sat up in a ball, her body laying against her legs.

"Yeah, I guess you are right."

"How's Misato? Haven't seen her today."

"I saw her this morning. She went to some debrief today. She also mention she'll have a lot more of these when NERV is 100% down."

"Oh. This must be annoying for them. I'd think they'd want to just move on already."

"Agreed. We ran into so many close calls, this has to be tiring. Especially for people like Misato and your father."

There was another brief silence, before Asuka moved backward and lied on the bed.

"W-what are y-you doing?" I asked.

"Laying back. Is that okay?" she asked back.

"It's fine," I answered, with a small smile.

Another silence began as the clock passed to the next minute.

"You know what, Asuka?"

"Huh?"

"Asuka, this year's gone by fast. Saving the world and all. We've been pushed so far yet we've gotten to know each other so well, especially since SEELE was destroyed. I-I've thought about it and I want to know-"

I stopped.

"Asuka, are you listening?"

I turned.

She had fallen into a deep slumber, her eyes shut and her mouth barely open.

I sighed.

 _What do I do?_

It was much too late to ask for access to the next room, so I just shut off the light and laid down, far enough from Asuka to hopefully not make it look wrong in the morning.

 _4 years later..._

We had arrived at the store after I took Asuka (it was more like she forced me to) on brief walk around the area. I remembered that leaving was an excuse, so I guessed that I should prep for dinner while I was at it.

It took me merely 10 minutes of choosing before we left. The trip back felt much faster, as Asuka asked me mindless questions that didn't seem like it would phase me outside of my mind. I honestly thought that I wanted her gone and was panicking in my brain.

We got home and had to go to stuff for school (more excuses) while Misato (who understood but also didn't) and Asuka caught up. Rei, for some reason, was still sleeping and my father was at work.

I kept working and studying away, until Misato came in.

"Shinji, your father will be home soon. Don't you think you should take a break and come cook dinner?" she asked.

"I guess. What about Rei? Is she up?" I asked back.

"No. Do you want me to check on her?"

"Yes, please."

I got up and moved to the kitchen, while Asuka seemed to be occupied with something.

As I prepared, I couldn't stop looking up at her.

 _How am I going to approach her the entire time she's in Japan? Am I going to be saved by Misato or dragged by my ear the whole way?_

I then looked out of the window to my right, spotting the sun getting closer and closer to the horizon. I then went back to cooking.

 _I guess this is all I can do for now._

After a while, Misato finally checked in on Rei.

I saw the two walk out, with Misato walking my direction and Rei immediately getting Asuka's utmost attention.

I tried to eavesdrop, but Misato came up to me.

"Turns out she's been sleeping. That's a bit concerning, isn't it?" she asked.

"Maybe she didn't go to sleep last night and fell asleep this morning."

"She told me otherwise. Rei's been sleeping since last night."

"It's 4:30! Looks like I have another responsibility to take care of every morning."

"I think she's just getting used to her surroundings. Rei hasn't been in a house like this for long."

"I guess you're right."

By the time, Misato and I finished our conversation, the interaction between my old co-pilots had ended. Based on Asuka's expression, they didn't seem like they argued or anything.

As the time ticked by, I had nearly finished dinner and Father got home from work.

He didn't seem surprised that Asuka was here, which immediately drew suspicion.

"Hello, Asuka. Nice to see you here," he greeted.

"It's nice to see you too, Mr. Ikari," she replied, with a little uncertainty in her voice, indicating she remembers all he did during the fight with the angels.

Father was about to pass but I pulled him aside.

"Did you know about this?" I asked.

"What? No," he responded with a confused smile.

I gave him a look as if I wasn't taking no for an answer, and he sighed.

"You'll figure it out. I know you're stressed, just work it out while you can. Alright, Shinji?" Father explained.

"Fine," I agreed.

That night's meal: shrimp and rice, was finished cooking, and Rei helped me set up the table. She gave me concerned glances, but remained quiet.

"Looks like dinner's ready," Father announced, looking at the food and taking a seat.

"It's been so long since I've had this cooking! Ain't that right?" Asuka complimented.

I guess she expected me to respond, because she frowned.

Misato stepped in again.

"It's only gotten better since then! Trust me on this," she cheered.

It was a quiet dinner, as the other three currently living in the apartment saw my discomfort and Asuka was eating away.

I finished my food first and put away my plate. I felt sick to my stomach, but not in a nauseating way, so I had to get out.

"I don't feel very well, I'm going to get some fresh air. I'll be back in a few," I announced, putting on my jacket.

"Where are you going?" Asuka demanded.

"I'll just be outside," I responded, walking out the door.

I could hear her try to speak, but I couldn't help shutting the door. I then walked down the stairs and down to the street, finding and sitting on the bench.

 _Rei_

Shinji had left the house, presumably to get away from Asuka. This didn't surprise me, but was indeed concerned.

"What's wrong with him anyway? It's like he's Mr. Lonely again," Asuka spat out, finishing her meal.

"Asuka, stop acting like this. I thought you got over this," Misato retorted.

"How do you know? You haven't been there for me once in 4 years! You've ignored me just as he did! He never kept in touch like he said he would!" Asuka argued.

"You know damn well that isn't true!" the older woman yelled back.

The room got silent. Ikari looked as if he was going to intervene, but failed to do so.

"Asuka, I would like to speak alone. Please come with me," I requested, gazing at my fellow pilot right into her eyes.

"What are-"

I interrupted her.

"Please."

She stood, as I did. I made my way to my room, as she followed suit. When she sat on the bed, I shut the door behind me. I pulled up the chair furnished into my room in front of Asuka.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked, in a sort of irritated tone.

"You have to hear me out when I explain everything to you. Shinji obviously isn't being himself around you. You should be able to guess why."

"I know what he did to me. He sent me that letter."

"Did you write him back?"

"N-no. I didn't know what to say. I-I thought he would try to reach out a-again."

"This is why. You two never reconciled and ended the whole mishap. He's been scared of you. Shinji feels like he wrote you off by not telling you before you left for Germany."

"He should know I've gotten over it. I know how Shinji felt! He was pushed too far and the world was nearly ended because of it. I was one of the reasons that happened. I wasn't there-"

"But he doesn't know that. He thinks you don't understand and the way you've acted today proved it to him. I need you to talk to him again and prove him wrong. Please, he's done too much for me to not beg you to help him," I explained, nearly shedding a tear at the last part.

The girl opposite of me looked at me in defeat.

"You're right, First- I mean, Rei. Thank you," she said, getting up and leaving the room.

 _Shinji_

I breathed the cold October air. I had been sitting there for quite some time, but I wasn't ready to go back in just yet. I needed to face her, but I just didn't know how.

I shivered.

 _What if it is this way forever?_

I hoped not. I stared straight up as the sun went down and the stars began to show.

I heard footsteps.

"Shinji Ikari," a voice called.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It isn't your fault, Asuka."

"You're wrong."

"Yes, it is! I sent you that letter and I did what I did to you! You know that."

"But I didn't have the courtesy to write back. I never answered you and buried the hatchet. I never fixed things."

"But I didn't clear it up before you left."

"You didn't have to. It's not what I would've wanted."

"It doesn't change what I did."

"It doesn't, but I can't help but forgive you because I know you were pushed too far! I was too! NERV was killing us. I shouldn't have been acting like I was before that day! This isn't your fault! Nothing is or was."

I stopped. I was officially moved.

"I should've given you a reason to stay."

"Yes, you should've, but here we are."

"Let's go back to the way things were, okay?" I asked.

"Okay," Asuka answered, smiling.

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the short absence, but here's the next chapter. I had plenty of revising to do so here it is. I hope it turned out well, and have a great Thanksgiving!**_

 _ **-bakercomics**_


	7. Reflections

**Neon Genesis Evangelion: Another Way**

 **Chapter 7**

 **Reflections**

The night Asuka arrived, my sleep brought me back to the day we all could've died...

Well, that was many times, but you probably know which in particular I'm thinking of:

I remember realizing that was my last time in that stupid thing called an EVA and that I was brutal to SEELE's series, especially after that fake Lance nearly went into Asuka's eye.

My mission was simple yet the opposite: get an umbilical cord to Unit-02 and kill the EVA series.

The first thing I saw were white EVA-like creatures on the ground, with one standing, and EVA-02 using it's AT-field against a familiar weapon.

"It's that Lance! And it's breaking through the AT Field!" I yelled.

I rushed Unit-01 forward, attempting to push Asuka out of the way, but it was too late.

Luckily, it hadn't hit her eye, but I could hear her scream though the intercom.

"Asuka, a-are you-"

I heard a growl, interrupting my question.

"I'm fine," she spat out.

"I-I have an umbilical cord, a-are you sure you still want to fight?" I asked, holding it out.

"I don't I or anyone can live without SLAUGHTERING these things!" she yelled.

I quickly put the cord in.

I sighed, and turned.

"Well, win or lose, this is the end," I said to myself.

Asuka apparently heard me.

"Are you just going to stand there or are we going to end this?!" she yelled.

"You're right. We gotta win this," I said.

The Mass Produced EVAs surrounded us, as we waited for one of them to charge.

"Screw this! I'm going for the kill!" Asuka decided, running toward two of them.

"W-watch out for the umbilical cord! We can't afford to lose this one!" I responded, eyeing one of the EVAs begin their attack.

It grabbed one of the metal weapons of the ground.

 _That's the thing that turned into the Lance of Longinus. I need to be careful._

It lifted the weapon, but I jumped forward, hitting both the EVA and the weapon, knocking the threat out of its hands.

I threw a powerful punch, tearing through its chest, then pushing forward, I stood on its legs.

I began looking for the core, finding barely visible on it's stomach.

I punched the core, but it barely budged.

I looked backward. I saw that sharp gray blade in the ground, but another EVA raced for it.

"Asuka! Only go for the cores! It might take a while for them to budge, so try and grab one of those swords that turn into the Lance of whatever it's called!" I suggested, leaving my previous subject I still had yet to deal with for one of the sharp weapons.

There was no response, though I heard Asuka there, yelling and growling as she usually did in battle.

The SEELE programmed EVA was about to get its fake hands on the weapon, but not before I would make a jump for over its head, and turn its head to the point of the neck breaking. LCL or whatever that blood of theirs was began seeping out of the damaged neck as it tried to re-adjust its head. I grabbed the weapon before it could do so, and slammed it right into the core. More blood-like LCL sprayed out of the EVA's body, and the EVA fell to its demise. I pulled the sword out of its victim, and turned to the last few EVAs to regenerate that finally got up.

"Come on! What are you waiting for?!" I yelled, wielding the strange weapon.

They slowly moved, as if they were purposefully wasting time.

"Well, I can't waste any time." I whispered to myself.

I rushed toward the group of 4 EVAs, kicking the front one of the way, and stabbing through the core of the one next to it. The other two rushed at me, but just as I was going to stop one of them by holding its neck, but strangely, a familiar power appeared in front of me.

"An AT field? This can't be mine, can it?" I asked.

"You baka! Of course you have an AT field! Not only do you have a huge sync ratio, but you have those stupid angel guts in that EVA!" Asuka yelled, just audible enough to hear over the loud noise outside her EVA.

The two EVAs charging at me backed off, after seeing this. I removed the sword from the now deceased EVA, but in the process I turned off the AT field.

This proved to be a mistake. I felt a giant jerk from behind, soon hitting the ground. The sword was away from both me and my opponents, but if I wasn't careful, one of them easily could've killed me with it.

The EVA I had hit earlier but not killed, and two others began attacking, to which I could not win 100% of the time.

One smacked Unit-01 over the head, which hurt, and drove me over the edge. I pushed all of them off me, breathing heavily. One was still standing though, and quickly rushed toward me.

I responded with a punch with all of my power to its chest, easily smacking through it.

Next, the soon to be victim of mine still in my grasp, I continuously gave blows to its core, until I felt it shatter.

My fingers began to bleed, which meant the core was broken and I had disposed the beast.

"How many have you killed yet?" I said over the intercom.

No response.

"Asuka?"

Still nothing.

I turned, grabbing the MP EVA's sword, and rushed to where Asuka was currently fighting.

"Asuka!"

I saw two EVAs punching and pushing down on Unit-02, three dead ones surrounding them.

The sight only angered me more than I already was.

"Get _away_!"

I threw the sharp object at one of the EVAs, forcing it to stumble and fall. I jump-kicked the other, then stomping on it's core twice with only two smashes.

I turned back to a beaten Unit-02 and forced Unit-01 to kneel and pull it out of the hole it was forced into.

"ASUKA! Are you there?!"

Suddenly, communications came back on.

"Shinji? We're restarting the map and the Magi currently! Bakelite's covered the place but we don't have much time! Why aren't Asuka's communications on?" I heard Maya ask.

"I don't know. She's got beaten pretty hard. I've been trying to reach her," I replied.

I began to hear static, then a cough.

"Shinji... I'm pretty much fine, but Mama isn't. We need to get out of here," she explained, over static.

"What? Mama?" I asked.

"There's no time for that! I'll explain later, but the EVA- it's breaking down!"

"Sorry, Asuka, we can't eject your entry plug. The MAGI's still down," Maya pointed out.

"I-I can do it. I can get her in here," I explained.

"The EVAs are still out here! We can't do that!" Asuka yelled.

"Do you want to be a sitting duck out here?! It's now or never!" I responded, finally asserting myself.

Asuka sighed.

"Fine. Do it before the other EVAs come back."

I turned Unit-02 over, and looked for the opening to the plug.

"Take off your nerve clips in case it really hurts," I pointed out.

I waited a second.

"Alright, do it."

I ripped open the piece the kept the entry plug enclosed, and pulled it out.

"Can you open the door, Asuka?

She groaned and reached for the door.

"I can barely move in the LCL!" she yelled.

Despite that, I saw the small hatch open, with LCL spilling out.

I put the pod down and kneeled to where she could get in.

I felt a shake and heard footsteps.

"Let's end this quickly," she suggested.

"Agreed," I replied.

"Where's that sword thing anyway?" Asuka asked.

"In one of the thing's arms. I should go finish it off."

I jumped up out of the hole, only to see the EVA that wasn't killed, still lying there.

I gripped the sword out of its shoulder and stabbed through its core.

"There are two left, then it's all over," I softly announced.

"That's great, but those are two more threats, Shinji," Maya replied, with gunfire in the background.

"Let's finish this then! Charge them with full for-" Asuka began, but before a giant boom covered the sound of her voice, and a consistent shake in the ground began.

I pushed Unit-01's sights to my left, to see a flashing light coming from the direction of NERV.

"What the hell was that?!" I asked, my eyes widened.

"I don't know, Shinji, but if what I think is happening doesn't stop now, we'll all die," Maya responded.

Suddenly, a hand emerged.

"That's the giant angel in Terminal Dogma!" Asuka yelled.

"Lilith..." I muttered.

The hand turned human-like, and stretched in to an arm.

"We need to kill those things before we face another threat," I quickly explained, turning away from the monstrosity coming from Dogma and moved out of the forest to find the last of the EVAs before they found us.

Luckily, they were clueless and we were right on their doorstep.

I leaped into the air, sword in hand, appearing just above the white monster. It was going to turn, but I glided down too fast for him, and lodged the sword right through his back. I waited for it to lose motion, and it was nearly too late, as the other MPEVA rushed to move for the surprise kill.

I turned back to face him, blocking his attack and pushing him back to what looked to be a few feet from my eyes. I pulled the LCL covered sword up, and slammed down, but his countered with his sword, causing a clash and a stalemate.

I pushed hard, but the EVA's grip and arms wouldn't submit to my attack. It remained like this for a while, before I got an idea from a memory from the Over the Rainbow.

"Asuka! Help me push down!" I yelled.

She rushed over, grabbing the handlebars, her hands above mine.

"Push!" I heaved.

The handlebars slowly moved further and further.

"PUSH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Suddenly, I spotted the sword changing forms.

"Pull up! Pull UP!" I yelled again.

"On 3, we strike!"

"3..."

The sword got thinner and thinner, slowly beginning to resemble its ultimate weapon.

"2..."

Asuka was counting down as well.

"1..."

The sword was almost the Lance of Longinus, and this meant this had to be the final hit, or we lost.

"NOW!" We screamed in unison, bringing the final gauntlet down on the enemy.

The two weapons collided, and the world sat still and silent.

The handlebars were on the verge of breaking from the pressure of our bodies.

I closed my eyes.

 _Please, DIE!_

Suddenly the pressure was released.

The fake Lance split in half, and the sword went through the creature from hell at the speed of light.

The creature stood one last time, before it suddenly burst out blood-like LCL, and split into two.

The ground shaking suddenly stopped too.

Maya's comms suddenly turned on, and the sound of gunfire had stopped.

I recalled that as a moment that the world stopped. It was over.

Suddenly, I heard cheering over the intercom.

"Shinji! Asuka! You guys have done it! SEELE and the other forces have pulled out and there are no signs of other threats!" Maya yelled.

"We did it..." I murmured, breathing heavily.

Asuka fell backwards.

"No more angels... We killed them all..." I continued.

"Oh my god! It's finally over!" Asuka cheered.

I felt arms come from around my seat and around me.

"Shinji..." I heard Asuka whisper.

I breathed heavily and even smiled for one second, before blacking out.

As soon as this happened, I awoke from my reliving of the past in the present.

I checked the clock in the living room, because Misato was sleeping in my room.

 _6:54_.

I had classes the next day, making me groan because I hadn't done the homework for those yet.

I got off the couch and folded the blankets. I then snuck into my room very quietly to not wake Misato.

I looked in the direction of the other two bedrooms.

 _Maybe I should check on Rei._

I approached her door, and slowly turned the knob.

I heard movement as I opened it, only to see Rei, sitting up in her bed, with a very emotionless yet tired expression.

"Oh, you've woken up," I commented.

She opened her mouth a small bit to yawn.

"Yes," she replied.

"Well, you may as well get up. I'm going to make breakfast right about now," I suggested.

She quietly nodded, and I shut the door.

I then made my way to the kitchen and grabbed eggs out of the fridge.

I wasn't feeling like making something too time-consuming, so I just made eggs and rice, with coffee for Father and Misato.

Rei emerged with a shirt and pants Misato gave her, with her hair a mess and small bags under her eyes.

"Here you go, Rei," I said, as set a plate of food in front of her.

She sat, and ate slowly, contradictory to a few nights before.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door.

"Oh, that must be Asuka," I pointed out, exiting the kitchen and rushing to the door.

I opened it to see who was expected on the other side.

 _She's sure here early._

"Hey. I just made breakfast if want some, but it's not much," I greeted.

"That sounds great right now. The stupid hotel I'm staying at has bad room service," Asuka replied.

I served her a plate and then sat on the couch.

"Hey Shinji, could you show me where Hikari lives? I haven't seen her in ages," Asuka asked.

I sat there for a second.

 _Didn't Misato mention a surprise party of some sort?_

"I don't think she'd be home today, she works downtown somewhere," I answered, twisting the truth a bit.

Although that was mostly true, she didn't work until night, 3 days a week.

"Well, that blows. Does she work tomorrow?"

"Probably not, as I see her around the college on Mondays."

"Then what should we do today?" Asuka asked.

"I dunno. I have a bit of work for tomorrow's classes, so I may need a little time to myself before dinner."

"Aren't you forgetting that I have a degree? I can help you," she declared.

"You can't read Kanji, so you can't help with my Japanese assignment and I don't know how much you know about Music."

Asuka sighed in defeat.

"Well, we still have plenty of time anyway. Where do you want to go, Rei?" the red-head asked.

I was going to intervene, before backing to let Rei answer for once.

"I have been asked to stay indoors until my mental state is used to consciousness by the hospital," Rei responded.

It looked like Asuka was about to start the whole "Are you going to do it just because he/they/she asked you to?" argument, before realizing the futility in that. Not only was it doctor's orders for her health, but also her hesitancy to throw this potentially new relationship off it's course.

Instead of sourness coming out of Asuka's mouth, pity flowed through instead.

"Well, that blows. I hope that'll end soon so we can show you the world again. Maybe even things that you still don't understand from before you were in that coma," she explained.

I heard a door open from the end of the hallway, meaning someone had gotten up.

Father turned the corner, rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning, kids. You sure are up and ready early."

I fetched him a cup of coffee.

"Morning, Com- Gendo," Asuka greeted, stopping mid-sentence to correct herself.

"Good morning, Ikari," Rei said, in a very monotone voice.

I look up at Rei.

 _What's up with her?_

I didn't say anything, but I didn't think Rei was acting like herself, well at least herself at that point.

I shook my head and went back to business.

"I guess I haven't given you a tour of the town yet. We could head downtown and I can show you places I've been over the years. Does that sound like a good idea?" I suggested.

"That sounds okay. Are there things that I would find interesting in particular?" Asuka asked.

I knew what she was referring to, but I decided to play dumb.

"There's plenty of stores and cool things to look at. I don't remember everything, though."

"I better bring my wallet then. I may have forgotten it at my hotel room," Asuka replied, searching her bag.

It was still pretty early, so Asuka and Rei sat and watched TV and Father did some work on his computer while I cleaned the kitchen.

Misato was still sleeping, so I didn't have anyone to talk to about our potential plan.

"We'll leave in an hour or two. Maybe Misato will want to come with us," I suggested.

The conversation faded from there.

I sat and looked out the only window of the house from a chair seated next to it. The others kept doing what they were doing, with Asuka attempting to make conversation with Rei.

I was going to join out of boredom, but I felt as if Asuka needed to make amends on her own. I listened as they spoke of what Rei missed in the world whilst in her coma, but then immediately tuned out as Asuka began to talk about teaching Rei to use makeup.

I felt a buzzing in my pocket, realizing it was my phone.

I used to panic when I first started using my phone for purposes other than NERV, as I thought a buzz or beep meant an angel was coming.

I turned on the device and saw that I received a message from none other than Toji.

 _Toji: yo, shin-man! what's up?_

 _Me: Nothing much. You?_

 _Toji: same here. how's life?_

I realized that I had to lie for now.

 _Me: Normal. I'm getting by. How's it back at the apartment with Hikari?_

 _Toji: great! we got the place set up pretty nicely. it is small, tho. i'm easily movin up the ranks in my job so we might be able to get an upgrade by next year. hikari's great!_

I know I had to make some sort of move for this plan to be put into action.

 _Me: That's good. Are you and Hikari free tomorrow night?_

 _Toji: i think so. i work early and i'm sure hikari's open as well._

 _Me: Cool. I was wondering because I was thinking of having you guys come over. It's been a while, so maybe we catch up a bit._

 _Toji: sure, man! it's been wayyy too long. i'll talk to hikari. she'll be all over it. i'll get back to ya._

 _Me: Alright! See you around, Toji._

 _Toji: see ya shin-man._

I turned off my phone from there and continued waiting for Misato to wake up.

It was an _hour and a half_ later. Asuka was _really_ getting tired of waiting, (frankly, so was I) when Misato stumbled out of my room, looking like a tired mess.

"Well, _someone_ finally woke up," Asuka scoffed.

"Morning. Breakfast is in the microwave," I said, as Misato rubbed her eyes.

"Thank you, Shinji. Just like old times," the lazyhead replied, making her way toward her meal.

"Can you get ready soon? Shinji and I were going to go downtown but he wanted to wait for you." Asuka spat out, in a somewhat complaining tone.

 _I g_ _uess there is a little bit of old angry Asuka around._

"Really? Well, I'd best hurry," the older woman replied.

 _Misato actually **wants** to get up? Now this is something you don't see everyday. That baby must be doing something to her brain._

After quickly eating, she moved to my room to get changed and then to the bathroom.

Suddenly, I remembered seeing the apartment for the first time after Tokyo-03 was destroyed for the second time.

"Well, here it is," Misato said.

Misato then tried to open the door with both keys and keycards. Turned out that the door was stuck and that forced me and Misato to pull it open.

After 5 minutes of pulling, we (along with Asuka) went inside to find almost everything broken or knocked over in a way.

"Damn. I guess we better find anything we can before the place gets demolished," I pointed out, making my way to my bedroom.

I wondered if my cello was in a repairable state, so I looked for that.

The other two did the same, although it seemed that Asuka was done quick and didn't take very much, at least compared to what she brought.

I just stuck to cleaning out what was left of my room, which I found a lot of stuff under the debris.

Suddenly, I heard a shriek coming from Misato's side of the apartment.

Asuka and I rushed to see what was the matter and opened the door to Misato's bedroom.

"What in- Mein Gott!" Asuka yelled.

In my sight was Misato, sitting on her room's floor surrounded by a smallpile of empty bottles and some glass shards.

"What was a pile of bottles doing in your closet?!" Asuka asked.

"I-I can explain," Misato responded, with a nervous smile.

"No point in cleaning it now. Are you alright? Any glass on you?" I asked, holding my hand out for my former guardian to grab hers.

Misato gripped my hand and I pulled.

"I'm fine. Nothing hurts, really," Misato responded.

I checked the time.

"It's gonna get dark out, we'd best be going," Asuka pointed out.

It probably be a little weird to say that it was getting dark, but most of the power was out in the parts of the city that weren't underwater. The Geo-Front was just barely saved.

After gathering what I could, I entered the NERV vehicle Misato borrowed and shut the door. As it started, my mind flashed back to the future, where I was leaving the apartment.

"Bye, Father. Bye, Rei!" I said as I shut the door behind me. I faintly heard Father say bye and I could see Rei wave through the crack in the door as I left.

"Are we taking my car or the train?" Misato asked.

"I think the train would be a better idea. It'll show you guys what's here more," I answered.

And off we went to the train station, which was the fourth time there that week.

I went up to the kiosk and bought two extra tickets for the downtown train.

We passed the checkpoints and entered the area where we waited for the train.

 _Rei_

I sat where I had been since I had awoken: in the kitchen at the table.

I looked at my surroundings.

 _Is this real? I've only been here for two days and..._

 _...it's all still so new to me._

Ikari came out of his chamber as he tied his tie.

"Ikari?" I called.

"Yes, Rei?" he replied.

"Where are you occupied now?" I asked.

"Well, I work in a lab where we research biological anomalies and activity that doesn't seem normal," he answered.

"If you have the funds such as NERV's leftover sum, why do you have a job?" I asked

 _Is this what Asuka called "pushing it" or "being nosy"?_

"Not only to provide for our future, but I have to fix what I have done and make sure the threat of Angels are gone for good."

"But weren't you-"

"Rei, don't bring what's in the past back. It's 2019, not 2015."

Ikari looked as if he were about to leave. before I made one last move.

"Why can't I go anywhere?" I asked, adding a little bit assertiveness in my voice.

"That isn't my decision to make," he replied.

"How should I know that?" I retorted, nearly yelling.

We both stood silent. In my mind, I was taken aback. I had never felt unsuppressed stress, anger, or disgust such as that before. Not even the time when I denied Ikari's request to bring his wife back or when I slapped Shinji. I wanted to yell at him. I desired to bring him pain for all of the deception and torment he had put me through. I finally realized it.

I was changing.

"We'll talk about this later. I have some business to attend to," Ikari continued, as he grabbed his briefcase and left the house.

 _He has not fully changed, he has just grown soft._

I turned away from the door as he left.

 _I'm the third and last form of what is known as Rei Ayanami. I am me. If this is true, what is happening to my being?_

No answer to my thoughts, unlike my dreams in the blackness of my 4-year slumber. Lilith was still there. Lilith was the only thing there for me, although I wasn't necessarily aware of it. I didn't know what kept me alive, whether it was a subject of luck, logic, or Lilith herself.

I peered out the only window of the house. The sun was hidden behind it's solitude we call clouds, as the day of autumn began to rise. I never understood weather, as it was explained differently in school than it was in reality due to Second Impact.

I just wondered when I'd be able to visit the sun again.

 _Shinji_

The train ride was short and sweet. We arrived at the next station, to where we would go into town. We passed the gates and we arrived at the street.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked.

It was still morning, so I was hoping they'd pick like a recreational district where we could go see a movie or go to a museum, but of course, they had to already say:

"Let's go shopping!" they cheered in unison.

I rolled my eyes.

"Ok then, let's go," I replied, sighing.

I led them to the shopping district. Luckily for me, some of the large clothing stores where closed. The one Asuka hoped was there was open, so I was dragged in as Misato followed.

I sat on a bench outside a changing room as the girls browsed.

After about 10 minutes, Asuka entered a changing room.

"Don't look or I won't be a very happy Asuka!" I heard her say behind the door.

I rolled my eyes again.

After a couple more minutes, Misato (who was surprisingly bagless) sat next to me.

"Hey kiddo, is Asuka in there?" she asked.

"Yeah, she is," I replied.

"Well, since she's distracted, how about we speak about our little plan?"

"I already invited Toji and Hikari over for tomorrow night."

"And?"

"Toji said he'd get back to me. I'm planning on inviting Fuyutsuki as well."

"What about Kensuke?"

"In the air force."

"Oh, that's right."

"Can you possibly get Aoba or Hyuga down here?"

"I'm sure Hyuga's free, since's he been Mr. Stay-at-Home dad except for doing spreadsheets for a company on his computer. Aoba probably isn't even home."

"Ok, invite them if possible. We're going to surprise everyone."

As soon as I said that, Asuka bursted out of her dressing room, wearing a very tight, black dress. I nearly fell backwards at the sight of it.

"Whaddya think?" the redhead asked, with a smile and a wink.

"Seems a bit skimpy, but it's cute," Misato complimented.

"What about you, Shinji?" Asuka asked.

I blushed and laughed in embarrassment.

 _Looks like more than just her personality matured._

"Yeah! Um, you- I mean- Uh, i-it l-looks great, Asuka!" I spat out.

She smirked.

 _Oh boy. She's gonna mock me._

"Thank you," she replied, stepping back into the dressing room.

I was dumbfounded. I mean, I definitely knew she changed, but I was sure she'd still call me names like pervert without realizing it.

"Anyway, are we set for tomorrow?" Misato asked, chuckling.

"I just gotta throw it by Father and make enough food," I replied.

I took me a second to realize that Misato still had a smirk on her face.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked, suspicious.

She stopped.

"Oh, it's nothing. It was just your reaction to Asuka, that's all."

"Oh. Okay, I guess that's not that- Wait, what's that supposed to mean?!"

She burst out in laughter.

"You should have seen your face! Based on what you looked like, I'm starting to think you really were a perverted 14 year old boy," Misato explained.

"It's not that! It's just-"

The next thing you know, Asuka came out in a red, two piece swimsuit this time.

I proceeded to fall backwards from the bench, nose bloody and face red.

Misato was now hysterically cackling away at the sight.

"This is gold! I never thought you would act like this!" Misato spat out, laughing to the point of crying.

"What's going on here?" Asuka asked.

I swear to God, Misato was about to open her sorry mouth before I immediately sat up and yelled:

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

After an hour of that, it was about 10:45, so we left to go get some early lunch. And before you say anything, _yes_ , they did make me carry the bags.

We arrived at a cafe about 15 minutes later.

"What do you even do for fun around here, Shinji?" Asuka asked.

"Personally, nothing much around the city. I browse shops from time to time," I responded.

It was true. I wasn't known to many around the city because no one knew who I was as a pilot, but that was fine by me. I really only hung around the house, went to school, and shopped (until recently, at least).

I only knew my way around because my high school had many city trips.

Speaking of high school...

 _4_ _years prior..._

"H-hi, I'm Shinji Ikari. I-I like books and music," I introduced myself to my new class, bowing.

"Shinji here just got discharged from the now disbanded defense group NERV," the professor stated.

I personally wanted to punch the man for that, but I resisted the temptation.

Suddenly, all the attention was pointed right at me.

 _Thanks, teach._

"Shinji, you shall sit between Toji and Kyoko to the left," the teacher pointed.

"Yes, sir," I responded, feeling slightly uncomfortable in my new uniform as I walked.

I sat next to Toji, who immediately punched my shoulder.

"Welcome back, Shin-man!" he greeted.

"Thanks," I replied, giving him a pitiful smile.

I looked down at his leg. It was completely prosthetic from below the knee, but it didn't seem any different.

Thankfully, no one really bothered me about the NERV thing on my first day, except when I talked to Toji and Hikari about it.

This all went down during lunch.

"So... how was it?" Toji asked, with a concerned look on his face.

"Toji, he may not be comfortable talki-"

"No, it's fine. I should tell you guys," I said, interrupting Hikari.

"Are you sure, Shinji? You're not one to take things like this well," Hikari asked.

"I guess I learned my lesson. Do you want the whole thing or just the outcome?" I asked.

"The whole thing," Toji answered.

I sighed.

"Well, it all started on the morning of New Year's Eve. I decided to visit Asuka, who was catatonic, in the hospital for the only time. I... don't know how to put this, but I did something terrible to myself and her in that room. It terrorized me for the next two months and it still haunts me dearly. I immediately realized what I had done, causing me to break down. This was when those bastards from SEELE sent in their troops. Misato had to come get me after I almost bit a bullet. She got me all the way to the cages before getting shot. I thought she had died, but someone got to her before she bled out. I was sent up to my EVA, which was about to end up in Bakelite, but I was able to get in before the room was filled with it. After breaking out of it, Asuka, who was somehow out of her catatonia, was fighting these... fake EVAs. I helped out, but nearly died multiple times in the process. Luckily, after getting Asuka out of her incapacitated EVA, we killed the rest of 'em. That was the end of their attack. Ayanami was knocked into a coma and we stayed back at HQ for two months until everything was shut down. Asuka flew back to Germany, Misato moved a few towns over, and me and my dad are trying to fix things. I currently live with him," I explained.

"Wait- Asuka's gone?!" Hikari asked.

"She said to say good bye for her. She was called back, she didn't choose to. We were even getting along. It hurt to see her go," I answered.

"So you guys really didn't hate each other. Should I say that you guys..." Toji suggested, trailing off.

"I wouldn't go that far, but at that point, you're kinda close," I replied, with a sad smile.

"Is Rei expected to wake soon?" Hikari asked.

"No one knows," I replied.

"Man, that really sucks. I feel there's a hole with the she-devil, Rei, and Kensuke gone," Toji confessed.

"I just hope they'll be back," I said, before being pulled into a hug by Hikari.

Since that day, I had come a long way. The next thing I knew, almost everyone was back.

It's almost as if there can't be a happy ending in this melancholic story.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading to whoever is still out there. This took me a while because of finals, break and writer's block. This is easily the longest chapter. I'm trying to get better at writing this long of a chapter on average. The next chapter will be Shinji and Misato's plan coming into action, though it isn't much. I like this route of plot I'm taking, mixing memories with the present timeline. Hopefully they will go more indepth, though. RR!**

 **Cheers, ciao, adios, get in the robot, stay cool,**

 **bakercomics...**


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